Carnegie Mellon is a member of the Independent Labeling Program which is comprised of institutions with independent licensing programs. The group was organized to create and utilize one representative label for its members and to relieve the burden on manufacturers of having to deal with many different labels for the various institutions.

The label serves two purposes. First it identifies the item as an officially licensed product to the buying public. Second, it assists the member institutions with their enforcement of the retail market.

Carnegie Mellon requires the label be affixed to all licensed merchandise in the marketplace; however, this label is primarily designed for soft goods and larger hard goods. Smaller licensed products such as buttons and key chains are not required to have the label affixed to their product or packaging. Displaying the label on these items' product displays and/or point of purchase material is also acceptable.

The Collegiate Licensed Label may be combined with other such licensing labels, such as NFL, NHL, MLB, etc. on a single hang tag if the manufacturer so desires. The university will not allow this label to be used with the labels of other independent collegiate institutions that are not members of the labeling program.

Each licensee is required to print its name on the group label unless the manufacturer's name is identified somewhere on the product, such as on the neck tag or included in the screen design.