If you're new to embroidered patches you may be wondering why you can't find certain types of patches for sale online or in stores. Most notably are those from motorcycle clubs, sports teams, and even commercial enterprises. All of these different types of patches are not sold by retailers because they are off-limits for one reason or another. The fact is that the owner of the logo has not given permission for them to be mass produced for sale by retailers. When it comes down to it, it's all about money. But that’s the way it works.

Motorcycle Clubs and Civic Organizations

The simple reason you cannot buy motorcycle club and civic organization patches is because they want to protect their membership; they do not normally allow for mass production and re-sale of their patches. For example, suppose you were a new recruit in a local motorcycle club and you went through the long and arduous process of gaining full membership. Once they received their patch they would feel a sense of special accomplishment for having achieved it. But how much pride would they feel if they found that someone could just go and buy the same patch without needing to do anything to earn it? Not very good, I suspect.

That is the major reason why civic organizations and motorcycle clubs will do all they can to protect their membership and will require members to earn their patches. The only way to get a motorcycle club patch is through the actual club and they do not like when they see others wearing pirated versions of their patches. So much so that you could find yourself in a heap of trouble wearing a patch didn't earn.

Sports Teams

In the world of professional sports marketing revenue is one of the foundational elements that help professional leagues stay in business. This is the reason they need to have strict controls over the way that merchandise is sold. If anyone was allowed to mass produce their patches then they could make quite a lot of money by selling in bulk. Whether or not we have a free market, these sports leagues know that by licensing their logos, they are guaranteed to make money. They're not about to throw that away to cheap retailers.

They accomplish this by getting trademarks for logos and names. A trademark is legal protection that prevents someone else from using the material without a license. There is virtually no way to get away with pirating sports merchandise because of how visible it is.

The U.S Military is an Exception

One thing you might be wondering about is why the U.S. military is not off-limits when the sports teams and motorcycle clubs are. The fact that the military is a public entity by law is the main reason why this is so. Since it is part of the government, and the government is owned by the people, the military is also owned by the people. Their graphics and logos are in the public domain for public consumption. In saying that, you can find numerous military patches that should only be worn when they have been earned. Patches earned by those who had served in a war such as Vietnam would be an example of those that should only be worn by those who had actually served in that war.