College Meets IP: The Intellectual Property of Higher Education

College may be one of pop culture's favorite settings, but behind the scenes, universities are serious intellectual property owners. Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue explore how colleges use trademark, copyright, and licensing to protect logos, mascots, colors, slogans, and other brand assets across athletics, merchandise, and media. Using Rudy, Blue Chips, and The Social Network as touchpoints, they also examine how NIL rights have changed college sports, and where the line remains between an athlete's personal brand and a school's protected IP. In this episode: How colleges use trademark, copyright, and licensing to protect their brands Why quality control and style guides are essential to university licensing programs How college merchandising became a multi-billion-dollar industry The key boundary between NIL rights and school-owned intellectual property Bottom line: college brands are more than traditions. They are carefully managed IP portfolios. Key Moments: (01:07) College Movie Kickoff: Animal House and the Campus Canon (13:52) College IP as Big Business (16:14) How Colleges Protect Their Intellectual Property (17:06) Licensing, Merchandising, and Revenue Streams (18:54) Quality Control, Style Guides, and Brand Consistency (21:30) Mascots as IP Assets (26:35) Urban Legend: No Logos, No Names, No Trouble? (29:18) NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) and the Modern College Athlete (36:00) Final Thoughts   For full show notes and to explore more episodes, please visit www.vklaw.com/newsroom-podcasts. 👉Connect with IP Goes Pop!  Request episode topics and share your feedback with us using the handle @volpeandkoenig on: Facebook Linkedin Twitter Instagram