Franchise Legal Services
Franchise Law was developed as a consumer protection to ensure that the Franchisee's are properly informed before entering into a franchising arrangement.
If you are looking to franchise your business you need to speak with an attorney to ensure you are properly limiting your potential liabilities. Some states have their own version of the law and you must comply with each state's law in which you want to offer franchises for sale.
If you are participating in a franchised business, you must comply with the Federal Trade Commission's rules relating to franchises. In addition, your state or other states you would like to offer franchises in may also have a franchising statue with its own rules. If you are a franchisor, I'll help you draft your own set of documents. If you are a franchisee, I'll review the documents provided to you by the franchisor and help you negotiate the terms of your agreement.
Having a federally registered trademark is especially important for franchise businesses. Licensing your trademark rights is one of the three pillars of franchising and franchisees expect that the franchisors trademarks will be protected. Plus in some states, registration requirements are limited or removed for businesses with a registered trademark.
13 states require registration of your Franchise Disclosure Document before offering franchises and another 7 require a simpler filing. I can assist you in ensuring you are ready to sell franchises in every state you are targeting. Click here for additional information on which states require registration and the associated fees.
As a business owner, forming a company will separate your business from your personal assets. As a franchise business, you will own more than one business entity and will make deals with other business entities so you need to think about how all those businesses will be related to one another.
If you are considering a licensing contractual arrangement with another business CALL NOW! Many licensing agreements are in fact franchise agreements and can put you in danger of being sued for non compliance with the franchising rules and having your contract invalidated. There are however certain circumstances in which a licensing agreement will work perfectly. Should this be the best arrangement for you I am happy to help draft the licensing agreement for you. The consultation is free so call now before you head down the wrong path.
In addition to Franchising and Licensing, Affiliate Agreements are a great way to capitalize on the brand recognition you have already developed. Without going through the required steps for franchising, an Affiliate Agreement allows you to certify other businesses under your brand name providing them with a marketing boost.
One of the most basic tenants of contract law is the integration clause, which seeks to limit the terms of the bargain to those that appear in the contract. If you are entering into any type of contract, each word that you include and even the ones you don't make a difference. You should never sign a document without first getting the advice of your own attorney.