A licensing initiative participated in by the University of North Carolina, the University of Illinoise and numerous other universities violates federal and state anti-trust laws, according to a several sources, including the dailytarheel.com.


The website, citing a cease-and-desist letter filed about a month ago by Washington, D.C. attorney Steven Bradbury, reported that Bradbury has instructed the Collegiate Licensing Company and 27 universities to discontinue the implementation of the Sideline 1 initiative, which refers to the licensees that universities license trademarks to.

In response, CLC said the program is meant to protect brands of colleges and universities, although Bradbury argues that it constitutes illegal collusion under the Sherman Anti-trust act. According to the letter, the initiative is an effort by CLC to restrict merchandise licensing by universities to Nike, Adidas or Under Armour, along with “one or two” other suppliers.


According to the dailytarheel.com, the issue arose after suppliers and retailers began to lose their licenses with universities. Bradbury said restrictions can cause royalty rates to go up, which ultimately leads to a higher retail price for consumers.