Boy Scouts of America :: Councils and Units

Local Councils | Parents & Volunteers | Council Suppliers | Council & Units FAQ

The same advancements in technology that have helped bring convenience to our daily lives in recent years have also made it easy to create printed materials, embroidery, and other products bearing BSA proprietary marks, words, and phrases without permission. The Internet has enabled those who are unauthorized to capitalize on BSA brand value by buying Internet domain names and search engine keywords which are, in fact, Boy Scouts of America trademarks. These Web sites are used for a variety of purposes that do not reflect the principles of the BSA, and some have even involved pornography.

Protecting BSA trademark assets
To ensure consistency in both stopping unauthorized use and controlling the use of BSA trademarks, the BSA significantly improved its product-licensing program in 2005 to put the National Council in better control of third-party use of BSA trademarks. Although many of these procedures have provided significant control over BSA brands, conflicts remain with regard to who has the right to grant the use of the Boy Scouts of America’s proprietary marks, words, and phrases to others. Many who are infringing have mistakenly believed they were authorized to use BSA trademarks simply by obtaining what they thought was permission from a local council or unit. This is not accurate. By U.S. Congress federal charter: Only the BSA National Council may grant the rights for the use of BSA trademarks—emblems, badges, descriptive or designating marks, and words and phrases BSA adopts—to any third party.

Clarifying the Use of BSA Trademarks for Those Working With Local Councils
To settle some confusion regarding rights of use and legal requirements, in October 2006 the National Council clarified the use of BSA proprietary marks, words, and phrases to local councils. Included in this clarification were two key items, as follows:

To engage in this activity, all suppliers providing materials to local councils that use BSA proprietary marks must be licensed by BSA. The license will establish the standards under which BSA proprietary marks may be used.

This means that all products bearing BSA proprietary marks on products created by a third party, that are not for an administrative or educational purpose (as shown in the accompanying chart), must be produced under license.

A local council may not use BSA proprietary marks for commercial purposes (e.g., where a third party benefits, in any way, financially), nor may a local council grant such rights, either actual or implied, to any third party unless the supplier qualifies for a Local Council Product Sourcing Agreement.

This means that a supplier may not produce, nor may a council request the production of, any product bearing a BSA trademark that will be sold (or can potentially be resold) to a council, membership, or to the public without a license that grants authorization for the production of such products.

For supporters of local councils, there is a royalty waiver provision in cases where a third party donates a product to a local council, if this product is not sold or resold. Permission must be obtained in advance by contacting us at licensing@netbsa.org for a Council Royalty Wavier form.

Please note that the responsibility for licensing rests with manufacturers and suppliers and not with councils, charter organizations, units, or volunteers.