FRANCHISE LAW
Franchise Law Articles
Plain-English analysis of FDD reviews, franchise agreements, exit strategy, and ongoing counsel for franchisees and franchisors.
477 articles
How to Make Your Franchise Agreement Legally Sound
A franchise agreement is legally sound when it does three things: matches the Franchise Disclosure Document you gave the prospect, complies with the FTC …
How to Set Up a Franchise Agreement: What to Include
To set up a franchise agreement, you draft a contract that licenses your brand, sets the rules of operation, and defines the money flow — but the agreement …
How to Update Your FDD and Franchise Agreement
A franchisor updates its FDD on two tracks — a full annual update within 120 days of fiscal year-end and material-change revisions during the year — while the …
How to Update Your Franchise Agreement & FDD
Updating a franchise system means two different jobs: updating the FDD on the schedule the FTC Franchise Rule requires, and amending the franchise agreement …
Intellectual Property in Your Franchise Agreement
A franchise is built on licensed intellectual property: the franchisor owns the brand, systems, and trade secrets, and your franchise agreement grants you a …
Is Your Business Ready to Franchise? A Checklist
A business is ready to franchise when it is profitable, proven, documented, and replicable by someone other than you — four tests most concepts fail before they …
Keeping Your Franchise Agreement Legally Compliant
Keep your franchise agreement compliant by reviewing it against federal and state franchise law every year and revising it whenever the rules change — not after …
Key Clauses Every Franchise Agreement Needs
A franchise agreement needs roughly ten core clauses to do its job: the grant and territory, term and renewal, fees, the trademark license, training and …
Managing Franchisee Performance and Expectations
Managing franchisee performance starts with the franchise agreement: a franchisor can hold franchisees to performance standards only to the extent the agreement …
Marketing & Advertising Rules in Franchise Deals
Marketing in a franchise system runs on rules set by the franchise agreement, and at its center is the advertising fund — a pool of franchisee contributions the …
Marketing a Franchise Across Different Audiences
Marketing a franchise to different audiences — first-time owners, career changers, immigrant entrepreneurs, veterans, or operators in a new region — is good …
Marketing a Franchise to Multi-Unit Operators
Marketing a franchise to multi-unit operators means selling experienced operators the right to open several locations at once — almost always through an area …
Marketing a Franchise: Showcasing Your Strengths
Showcasing your franchise’s unique selling points is how you stand out to prospective owners — but under the FTC Franchise Rule (16 C.F.R. Part 436), how …
Marketing the Value of Your Franchise Agreement
You can market the value of your franchise agreement — but the FTC Franchise Rule strictly limits what you can promise about earnings, and the agreement itself …
Negotiating Your Franchise Agreement: A Franchisor Guide
Franchise agreements can be negotiated — and a franchisor that knows what to flex and what to keep uniform attracts stronger franchisees without breaking FDD …
Protecting Intellectual Property When You Franchise
You protect your intellectual property when franchising by securing each type of IP before you grant a single franchise, then using the franchise agreement to …
Quiznos: A Franchise Supply-Chain Cautionary Tale
Quiznos is the clearest cautionary tale in modern franchising about franchisor self-dealing on supplies — and the warning was disclosed all along, in FDD Item …
Reading the FDD After a Layoff: What Matters
If you’re funding a franchise with savings or a severance check after a layoff, the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) is the most important thing …
Resolving Franchisor-Franchisee Legal Disputes
Handle a franchisor-franchisee legal dispute by going to the franchise agreement first — it almost always dictates how the dispute must be resolved, including …
Resources to Support Your Franchise System
Supporting a franchise system effectively takes infrastructure in six areas: field support people, training, technology, marketing, capital, and the legal …
