Brand Information

Brand Protection

For those of us who work at UCLA Health, our brand is an everyday thing. Sometimes we forget that the UCLA Health names and marks are assets of great value. To protect UCLA Health’s reputation and legal rights, all employees need a basic understanding of brand protection.

Using UCLA Health’s names and marks

State, federal and international law protect UCLA and UCLA Health’s trademarks, registered and unregistered. University and campus policy spells out the proper use of names and marks.

The employees of UCLA Health have a right (and responsibility) to use the proper UCLA Health marks on the print, video and online materials they create to conduct the business of the health system, but campus units must still exercise caution.

Outside of UCLA Health, trademarks cannot be used without first obtaining written permission from the trademark owner and must otherwise comply with our brand protection policies: 110, 411 and 863.

Here’s an example: Let’s say a department wants to show its support for a nonprofit organization by co-sponsoring an event and putting a UCLA Health logo on the program or website. That’s a “third-party” use and requires permission. Or perhaps you want to print t-shirts or promotional items for a recruitment effort. Those require the use of a licensed vendor, even if the items are given away rather than sold.

Brand guidelines define how UCLA and UCLA Health marks should be used — but only for approved uses. To find out if permission is needed for a specific use, and to start the review process, use the Administrative Vice Chancellor’s site: Permission to Use UCLA Marks.

There are three UCLA policies relevant to the proper use of the UCLA and UCLA Health brand: 110, 411 and 863.

Permissions

Policy 110 delegates much of the oversight of UCLA Health’s names and marks to the UCLA Administrative Vice Chancellor. That office maintains an online permissions process to streamline needed approvals.

See permission to use UCLA marks

Policy 110 — Names, seals and trademarks

You’re working on a project with researchers from other health systems. “Let’s feature all our logos on the project website,” a colleague suggests. Can you send the UCLA Health logo?

Not without permission, because UCLA Health is a registered trademark. “Third-party use” includes use by an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit or a government agency — by any entity that isn’t UCLA Health, UCLA or the University of California.

Permission is more likely to be granted if the proposed web page clearly states UCLA Health’s role in the research and presents our logo appropriately sized and with enough clear space to separate it from other logos.

Policy 110 spells out the restrictions on the use of UCLA Health and UCLA’s names, seals and trademarks by individuals, groups, and third parties.

See the complete Policy 110

Policy 411 — UCLA Health domain names

Policy 411 applies Policy 110 to web and electronic services, recognizing the importance of our online presence to the UCLA Health brand.

Consider this example:  Your boss is in a hurry to launch a website, so you use your credit card to register a domain name for uclagreatidea.org. You’re a hero, right?

Maybe not. Because the name “UCLA Health” is a registered trademark, any domain name that includes the health system’s name must be registered to the Regents, not to an individual. You can list yourself as the Admin Contact or the Tech Contact, but not the Registrant.

Consult Policy 411 for the right way to register a domain name, whether it’s in the uclahealth.org domain or a top-level domain other than “.org.” Domain name approvals can be submitted through Permission to Use UCLA Marks.

See the complete Policy 411