Licensing Code of Conduct

You must:

display a sign (the “Notice”) on your website at the point of sale and in any other location where you post, display, offer to sell, and/or sell items bearing A Phi A trademarks which states:

“Buyer acknowledges and agrees that he/she is an Authorized Buyer and is purchasing for a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (“Fraternity”) paraphernalia and other goods that bear the Fraternity’s logos, designs, copyrights and trademarks (“Fraternity Items”). Buyer understands and agrees that a non-member is not allowed to purchase, own or possess such items except when purchasing such items for the benefit of an active member.

Buyer also acknowledges and agrees that the purchase of Fraternity Items for any other reason is prohibited. In addition, Buyer acknowledges and agrees that purchasing these item(s) under false pretense authorizes the Fraternity to immediately (1)  immediately remove such items from the internet, and social media and other platforms such as Facebook, twitter, snapchat, eBay, amazon.com, etsy.com, Pinterest and the like (hereinafter collectively “Third Party”); and (2) confiscate such purchased item(s) from Buyer, and from the aforementioned Third Party and their mediums on which Buyer attempts to sell them. Buyer also knowingly waives its right under the First Sale Doctrine to subsequently sell, and attempt to sell, any item(s) bearing a Fraternity Mark, individually and through a Third Party or by any other means.”

The Fraternity has the right to revise the above Notice and to require such other notices as may be reasonably necessary to protect the interests of the Fraternity and you shall, at your cost and expense, fully comply with such requirements and notices as Fraternity shall request;

1. within 45 days of notice from the Fraternity or a purchaser complaint, remit a refund or acceptable adjustment to the complaining purchaser for any defective Licensed Goods you sold. In the event, due to no fault of the purchaser, you are unable to deliver a Licensed Good within 45 days of purchase, you must give the purchaser the option to receive a full refund of the purchase price within 10 business days of the purchaser’s demand. Your refund policy related to items bearing the Fraternity Marks must be conspicuously posted at all locations where you sell approved Licensed Goods containing the Fraternity Marks including in your vending area and at Approved Fraternity Functions;
2. not offer subscriptions to anyone for any goods bearing the Fraternity Mark and you may not solicit Fraternity members via email, social media, or by any other means unless such Fraternity member has given you prior written permission. This prohibition against solicitation includes solicitations to chapters, officers, regions, and Fraternity employees;
3. you may not sell or offer to sell goods containing Fraternity Marks to individuals or entities whom you know or reasonably should know will resell or distribute such goods. You also may not give, sell, donate, consign, or otherwise transfer items bearing the Fraternity Intellectual Property or Fraternity Marks to any department, wholesale or retail store, retailer, discount, thrift, or second-hand retailer. In the event your license with the Fraternity is terminated or expires and you have remaining inventory of items bearing its marks, you must within 30 days either destroy the remaining items and provide a certificate of destruction detailing when, where, and in what manner the items were destroyed as well as identify the date and location where the items were destroyed; or you must send the items to a location designated by the Fraternity;
4. submit as a separate jpeg file to the Fraternity of each item you intend to sell before posting, displaying, selling, or offering to sell it;
5. not alter, amend, create, or design around any of the Fraternity marks without prior written permission;
6. allow the Fraternity to inspect the Licensed Goods at any time during a public event, as well as during reasonable hours at your place of business and/or your place of manufacture and storage facility to ensure that proper quality, at marking, and control procedures are in effect;
7. as a licensed Manufacturer provide the Fraternity with a complete list of vendors to whom you have made and sold Licensed Goods, along with the quantity of such items, upon request by the Fraternity, within 10 business days; vendors you must supply the name of each manufacturer from which you have purchased Fraternity Items, along with the quantity of each item and description thereof.
8. Create labels based on the examples provided by the Fraternity and have them approved prior to using them in association with Licensed Goods
9. maintain the highest standards of professional and personal conduct;
10. treat Fraternity members and staff, and those buying for or on their behalf, courteously and respectfully;
11. comply with operating guidelines, rules, and regulations established by the Fraternity;
12. maintain during the License Term insurance policies in a form acceptable to the Fraternity issued by companies licensed in the appropriate jurisdictions with a current A.M. Best rating of A- or better, shall name the Fraternity, its agents, officers, employees, and volunteers as additional insureds; and shall provide Fraternity with a 30 day notice of cancellation;
13. maintain and provide to Fraternity upon its request, a copy of the current Certificate of License for each Manufacturer you use to make/manufacture goods containing the Fraternity Marks;
14. not jeopardize the value or goodwill of the Fraternity or its trademarks and notify the Fraternity with reasonable promptness in writing and provide relevant information in its possession or readily available to it if Licensee becomes aware of: (i) any actual, potential, or threatened infringement or other harmful or wrongful activities by any third party with respect to any of the Fraternity Marks; or (ii) any allegation or claim by any third party that any of the Fraternity Marks are invalid, or (iii) that use of any of the Fraternity Marks infringes or dilutes any rights of any Third Party, then Licensee shall with reasonable promptness, notify the Fraternity in writing and provide relevant information in its possession or readily available to it.
15. provide an annual accounting of how much product bearing the Fraternity trademarks it purchased from each Licensed Manufacturer;
16. not purchase items bearing the Fraternity marks from international entities including, but not limited to, those from China without an import license or expressed written permission from the Fraternity;
17. have a policy in place and provide training for its staff, employees, and volunteers to aid in compliance with the Code before commencing any manufacture and/ or sales of goods authorized under your License Agreement. You must provide the Fraternity with a copy of such policy upon request. The policy must include steps you take to ensure that any goods you make or sell containing the Fraternity Marks (i) are not prohibited items; (ii) have accurately reproduced the Fraternity Marks; (iii) do not infringe upon the rights of another; are not use in conjunction, or co-branded, with another’s mark and (iv) contains the appropriate registered trademark symbol;
18. not display, pass out, or make available fliers for events where goods containing the Fraternity Marks will be sold unless the events are sanctioned or licensed by the Fraternity (“Approved Fraternity Function”). A listing of approved upcoming events can be found on the Fraternity’s official website;
19. not use the Fraternity Marks, incorporate into any mark, or use a name confusingly similar thereto, in or in association with your domain name, corporate or trade name, email address, website, blog, Facebook page, X formerly known as Twitter account, Instagram, Snapchat or other forms of existing and yet-to-be-created social media platforms and mediums; and
20. not post, publish, offer to sell or sell or allow others to post or sell Licensed Products by auction, social media platforms, apple store or via websites, that you do not independently own and operate in your normal course of business, such as prohibited websites including eBay.com, Amazon.com, com, craigslist.org, Pinterest, X, etc. In addition, verify that your website and social media platforms are in compliance with this Code, including but not limited to, the proper placement of the Notice and correct marking of the Licensed Goods.

Prohibited Items

The Fraternity Marks, including any form of the Fraternity name, its Greek Letters, official combination colors, or any of its other symbols and indicies may not be used on, or in association with the following: casket linings, caskets, or otherwise related to funerals or death, except the Coat of Arms may be used on a headstone; items related to children 18 years or younger; clothing for non-members, women, infants, toddlers or pets; alcohol; tobacco; firearms or other weapons; drug- related paraphernalia; controlled or illegal substances; food and beverage products; hazing; paddles and items tied to a culture of, and associated with, hazing; items that are sexist, sexually suggestive or contain explicit remarks or profanity; items that cast the Fraternity in a negative light; items that endorse or associate the Fraternity with any other organization or entity without its prior written and expressed consent; items that bear negative images, terms, phrases, or sayings; items that reference political campaigns or promotion of political causes; items that are in bad taste or demean another’s heritage, sexual orientation, race, color or creed; items containing hateful language, symbols, designs, and that promote hatred; any item that conflicts with the ideals and principles of the Fraternity as determined by the Fraternity in its sole discretion; items that include the color red or use of “Bloody” or similar language in any manner; all forms of subscriptions and bundles unless authorized by a separate written agreement with the Fraternity; the manufacture or sale of the following items: IMDP Jackets, luggage, Milestone related clothing, golf bags, official online store, and jewelry that include the Fraternal Shield; you may not use “official” or infer any type of relationship with the Fraternity other than as a licensee unless otherwise stated in a formally executed written agreement.

With the exception of the limited license granted to our Official Jeweler, the Fraternal Shield may never be reproduced or used.

In addition, the Fraternity Name and Greek Letters AFA may not be used on items that are walked on such as shoes, sandals, slippers, socks, or footies; worn below the waist or sat on such as placing them across the butt of any bottom, pant, jogging suit, aerobic wear, shorts and the like, or on car mats, floor mats, home welcome mats, seat cushions etc.

Furthermore, a single Greek Letter “A” may be used provided it is reproduced exactly as shown on the 2024 Alpha Trademark Sheet; nor may the Fraternal Marks be used in connection with, or in reference to, the animals “dog”, “ape”, snake or “monkey”.

At Approved Fraternity Functions, you must:

1. Attend the orientation (if applicable) before entering the vending area, and do not begin to set up your booth before receiving your credentials; not enter the vending area before the posted operating hours; and promptly cease selling or attempting to sell at the designated end of vending hours- failure to do so may result in a fine of at least, but not limited to, $1,000 for each day of infraction;
2. attend all onsite orientation, emergency and/or mandatory meetings by the Fraternity, even if it means that you must temporarily close it and all persons who will be representing you in your assigned booth at any time must be at least 21 years of age and attend the meetings. Failure to attend or be on time may result in a fine of at least $1,000 or such greater amount as determined by the Fraternity, which shall be payable at such event
3. not enter or remain in the vending area smelling, or under the influence of, alcohol or illegal drugs. You must immediately and quietly without incident, leave the vending area if asked by Fraternity staff or one of its official representatives;
4. refrain from creating a tense or hostile vending area or working relationship;
5. not directly or indirectly assist an unlicensed vendor to sell goods containing the Fraternity Marks within or outside of the vending area;
6. comply with all applicable rules specified by the venue hosting the Approved Fraternity Function;
7. only share space with another Licensed Vendor or Licensed Manufacturer provided you have obtained the Fraternity’s prior written approval of such sharing arrangement and you have paid any additional fees required by the Fraternity;
8. not directly, or indirectly, allow another to use your vendor badge or assist others in gaining unauthorized entry into the vending area;
9. comply with all instructions given by the Fraternity and its contractors, related to load-in and load-out of vending area. You will be given approximately 30 minutes to load in and load out and must remove your vehicles immediately thereafter unless given written permission by the Fraternity’s International President or Executive Director or their designee;
10. not place goods outside of or behind your allocated space, unless otherwise given permission to do so, or in any way create a fire hazard. In addition, you must display a sign bearing your name within your booth and in such a way that it does not obstruct another’s booth You must not allow anyone to dress or undress behind, in front of, or beside your booth;
11. refrain from any type of inappropriate or unwelcome solicitation or conversation;
12. refrain from engaging in disruptive or argumentative actions or actions that result in a conflict between and amongst vendors, manufacturers, staff, or Fraternity representatives;
13. refrain from making inappropriate advances, or comments to Fraternity members, customers, other Licensed Vendors, and Fraternity staff and officers;
14. refrain from making disparaging or negative comments about the Fraternity, its staff, officers or customers, contractors or other vendors;
15. refrain from using Fraternity Marks in a parody or in association with the parody of another’s mark; and
16. refrain from selling the goods of another Divine 9-member organization without a current license to do so.
17. In the event you have secured an import license from the Fraternity, which allows you to purchase your goods internationally, you must provide the name and current contact information both domestically and abroad to that entity.

All complaints and concerns regarding the conduct of any Licensed Vendor or Manufacturer should be directed, while at Approved Fraternity Functions, to an official Fraternity representative.

All capitalized terms used in this Code that are not defined have the meaning set forth in your Vendor License Agreement for 2024.