Frequently Asked Questions - Licensing Information

Some of the Fraternity’s primary trademarks are listed below. However, Iota Phi Theta claims ownership of any logo, nickname, or tagline that it uses to conduct business, including non-registered trademarks. Any and all commercial use of Iota Phi Theta’s marks (or any marks that are confusingly similar) must be granted through a License Agreement with the Fraternity.

 

Trademarks include, but are not limited to:

• Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.
• Iota
• Greek Letters, “ΙΦΘ”
• Shield
• Centaur
• 1963

Any group or individual that wishes to trade on the goodwill associated with Iota Phi Theta’s marks, and benefit commercially from utilization of those marks, must become licensed in order to do so. A vendor is not required to become licensed in order to resell products produced by a licensed manufacturer, so long as they do not further embellish the product or expand on the use of the insignia (example: a licensed decal cannot be added to a cup without gaining licensing approval for the cup).

A member's right to use the organization's insignia is limited to noncommercial personal use (the process of recognizing oneself as a member). Outside of this limited use, members are required to follow the same legal obligations as other vendors. Consistent with fair trade practices, Iota Phi Theta has equitable terms for all vendors, regardless of whether or not an owner or employee may be a member of the organization.

Yes, licensing applies whenever a commercial transaction containing Iota Phi Theta’s marks takes place. Moreover, neither individual chapters nor members of the organization have the right to grant commercial use of the trademarks to a third party. Only Headquarters has that authority as the sole trademark owner.