You’ve probably seen the words “Officially Licensed Product” on a rugby jersey, cap, hoodie, scarf or piece of supporter gear.
· What does “officially licensed” actually mean?
· Who gives permission for a product to be made?
· Does some of the purchase price go back to the team or sporting organisation?
· And is an officially licensed product necessarily the same thing as an “authentic” product?
The terminology can sometimes be confusing.
In simple terms, officially licensed merchandise is merchandise authorised by the owner or controller of the team, competition or sporting brand whose intellectual property appears on the product.
For rugby supporters, this is the system behind official rugby merchandise that carries the branding of national teams, Super Rugby clubs, NRL clubs, and other sporting organisations.
There is, however, quite a bit more happening behind the scenes.
Sports teams and organisations own or control valuable intellectual property. This can include team names, logos, emblems, competition marks and other protected branding.
A business generally can't simply put an All Blacks logo, for example, onto a T-shirt and start selling it.
Permission is required from the organisation that controls the relevant intellectual property.
That permission is normally granted through a licensing agreement.
The agreement allows a business, known as a licensee, to use specified intellectual property on specified products, usually for a defined period and within particular countries or territories.
In return, the licensee will typically pay royalties and must comply with the licence conditions.
That's the basic principle behind officially licensed sports merchandise.
This can be more complicated than it first appears.
When you look at a rugby jersey, you might see the team's crest, the manufacturer's logo, sponsor branding and perhaps competition or event branding.
Those elements don't necessarily belong to the same organisation.
The team, union or competition may own or control its name, crest and other branding. The sportswear manufacturer has its own trademarks and may also own rights relating to particular designs. Sponsors control their own brands.
This means a single piece of sports merchandise can involve intellectual property belonging to several different organisations.
It also explains why the company manufacturing a jersey doesn't necessarily “own” the team branding appearing on it. It has permission to use that branding under the relevant commercial arrangements.
The process can involve several different businesses before a product reaches a supporter.
At the beginning is the rights holder. This is the organisation that owns or controls the relevant intellectual property.
Then there may be a licensee, a company with permission to develop particular products using that intellectual property.
The licensee may work with a manufacturer to actually produce those products.
Products can then move through distributors or wholesalers before eventually reaching a retailer, such as RYOS, and ultimately the customer.
Sometimes one company performs several of these roles.
For example, a major sportswear company may hold the rights to manufacture and sell a team's official playing and supporter apparel. In other situations, specialist companies may be licensed to produce particular categories such as headwear, toys, memorabilia or accessories.
This is one reason you'll often see the same sporting brand appearing across products made by several different companies.
When people think about sports merchandise, jerseys are usually the first thing that comes to mind.
But sports licensing covers a much wider range of products.
Depending on the licences granted by a rights holder, officially licensed merchandise can include:
A company may have permission to manufacture one category but not another.
A licence to produce apparel, for example, doesn't automatically give that business the right to manufacture toys carrying the same team's branding.
Obtaining a licence isn't simply a matter of receiving a logo file and putting it onto a product.
Licence agreements commonly establish rules around how the intellectual property can be used.
A simplified journey might look something like this:
Before production, designs may need to be submitted for approval.
That can include things such as the placement and size of logos, colours, wording, packaging and the overall presentation of the product.
Depending on the agreement and product, samples may also need to be reviewed or approved before full production begins.
This approval process helps rights holders maintain control over how their brand is represented in the marketplace.
Royalties are another important part of licensing.
A licensee will commonly pay the rights holder an agreed royalty based on sales of licensed products. There may also be minimum guarantees, licence fees or other commercial arrangements depending on the agreement.
The precise arrangements vary considerably between licences and are generally commercial agreements between the parties.
The important point for consumers is that buying officially licensed merchandise supports the legitimate commercial licensing system associated with that sporting brand.
Licensing and royalties are also among the costs involved in developing and selling official merchandise.
They're not, however, the only reason an official jersey or other piece of sports merchandise costs what it does.
Design, fabrics, manufacturing, freight, distribution, marketing, retail costs, production volumes and other factors all contribute to the final retail price.
Not necessarily.
Official licensing doesn't automatically guarantee that every licensed product will be premium quality.
Official merchandise can range from relatively inexpensive supporter accessories through to highly technical performance apparel.
Official licensing means the use of the team's branding has been authorised and the product has gone through the applicable licensing process.
Quality, materials, construction and technical features can still vary considerably depending on the product.
That's why it's quite possible to have two completely genuine, officially licensed products for the same team at very different price points.
The terms are closely related, but they describe slightly different things.
Officially licensed tells you that the use of the sporting organisation's intellectual property has been authorised.
Genuine generally means the product is the real product it claims to be, rather than an imitation or counterfeit.
There's another word that can cause confusion: authentic.
In sportswear, “authentic” is sometimes used to describe a particular specification of jersey. This is often a jersey designed to closely resemble what players wear on the field.
That means a supporter or replica jersey can still be completely genuine and officially licensed, even though it isn't an “authentic” player-specification jersey.
We've covered this subject in more detail in our guide to How to Tell if a Rugby Jersey Is Genuine.
There isn't one universal label or hologram used across every sport, brand and product, so consumers shouldn't rely on a single feature.
Depending on the product, useful indicators can include official licensing information on tags or packaging, correct branding and trademarks, manufacturer information and appropriate product labelling.
Where you buy it also matters.
Established sports retailers and official team or brand stores provide a much clearer supply chain than an unknown seller offering products of uncertain origin.
Sports merchandise licences, team ranges and individual products don't necessarily continue indefinitely.
A licence may cover a defined period, while jerseys and apparel are often developed for a particular season, tournament or campaign.
Manufacturers also change ranges, designs and product lines.
Once production has finished and the remaining stock has sold, an official product may simply no longer be available.
This is particularly noticeable with rugby jerseys. A new design may replace the previous jersey, a special-edition jersey might only be produced once, or a manufacturer may stop producing a particular supporter range.
That's one reason older genuine jerseys and supporter products can become difficult to find.
Seeing an older design disappear from stores certainly doesn't mean it was never an official product.
For the sporting organisation, licensing protects valuable intellectual property and provides greater control over how its brand is used.
For manufacturers and licensees, it provides the legal right to create products using that branding.
And for supporters, it provides confidence that the product has been produced through an authorised commercial relationship rather than simply having a team's logo copied onto it without permission.
It also allows sports organisations to work with different specialists.
One company might excel at technical performance apparel, another at headwear and another at collectables or toys.
The licensing system allows those businesses to create different products using a sporting brand within the permissions granted to them.
Behind it can be months of product development, approvals, manufacturing and logistics.
We've been selling sports merchandise in New Zealand since 1993, so we've seen enormous changes in the industry - from the rugby jerseys of the 1990s through to today's technical apparel and huge range of supporter products.
Most of the time, our role is as a retailer sourcing official products from established sporting brands, licensees and suppliers.
But RYOS has also been involved on the other side of the process, developing licensed products ourselves.
That gives us first-hand experience of what sits behind the words “officially licensed”. From licensing agreements and product development through to design approvals, production and ultimately getting the finished product onto the shop floor.
For the customer, much of that work is invisible.
You simply see the finished product.
Behind it can be months of product development, approvals, manufacturing and logistics.
Does officially licensed mean genuine?
An officially licensed product has been authorised to use the relevant sporting intellectual property. When purchased through legitimate channels, it should be a genuine licensed product.
Does officially licensed mean player issue?
No. Replica and supporter products can be fully licensed and genuine without being the same specification worn by professional players.
Is a replica rugby jersey fake?
No. A genuine replica jersey is an official product designed primarily for supporters. “Replica” describes the type of jersey; it doesn't mean counterfeit.
Does some of the money from licensed merchandise go back to the sport?
Licence agreements commonly involve royalties or other payments to the rights holder, although the arrangements differ between licences.
Can different companies make official products for the same team?
Yes. Different companies can hold licences or other rights for different product categories, territories or markets.
Why can't anyone manufacture merchandise with a team logo?
Team names, logos and other brand elements can be protected intellectual property. Businesses generally require permission from the relevant rights holder to use them commercially.
Not necessarily. Licensed merchandise exists at many price points. A small supporter accessory and a technical match-style jersey can both be officially licensed products.
For most supporters, none of this is what they're thinking about when they buy their team's merchandise.
They're thinking about the team.
It might be the All Blacks jersey worn while watching a Test with family, the Warriors cap that's been through years of ups and downs, or an old Super Rugby jersey that immediately reminds you of a particular player, season or match.
That's ultimately what sports merchandise is about: connection.
Official licensing is the framework behind the scenes that allows approved businesses to use sporting brands to create those products.
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