What are the key terms that a prospective tenant of a commercial lease should consider prior to signing a commercial lease? A prospective tenant should consider negotiating the following key terms in their commercial lease: Read more »

Anywhere I go, when people learn that I am a franchise attorney, they ask me what are the "hot" franchises that prospective franchisees are considering.  My answer is that there are certain categories of franchises that are "hot" right now, but it does not mean they are for every prospective franchisee.  Read more »

Most business owners do not realize that there is a difference between a franchise and a business opportunity.  Franchises are regulated by both the federal law (FTC regulation) and by certain state franchise laws.  Business opportunities are also regulated under both certain states' laws and the FTC. Currently the FTC is in the process of promulgating new laws governing business opportunities.

Franchises, under the federal franchise law are business arrangements that meet three criteria: 1) there is a trademark owned by the seller under which the investor operates; 2) the seller receives $500 or greater in the first 6 months that the investor is in business (for product, training or anything else); 3) the seller exercises sufficient control over the investor and the investor's business.  If these criteria are met, the FTC franchise law states that the seller/franchisor must provide a regulated franchise disclosure document (FDD) to a prospective franchisee/investor at least 14 calendar days prior to accepting any money from the investor and prior to the investor signing any contract with the franchisor/seller. Read more »

What are a franchisee's rights and duties upon the termination of the franchise agreement? Upon termination of the franchise agreement for any reason, the rights and duties of the former franchisee are specified in the franchise agreement he or she signed. Typically these obligations include several key steps that are essential to the franchisor and to other continuing franchisees.

The first step is that a former franchisee should immediately cease using the logos and trademarks of the franchise system. This means that if you were a franchisee of ABC Doggie Daycare franchise, for example, you would need to remove everything showing that name and any logo, including on any signs, Yellow Pages listings, any advertisements, all stationery and brochures, etc.  You would also have to change the decor that makes your location look like an ABC location and change any clothing that identifies your employees as part of the ABC system.  If ABC was a food service franchise then any recipes and food products that were proprietary to the franchisor would also have to be removed. Read more »

As the economy struggles to recover from the deep recession of a few years ago, more and more emphasis by the media is being put on ways to buy American products. Just look at the scandal that was caused by the US Olympic Team wearing Ralph Lauren clothes that were made in China when our economy is still suffering and people are still unemployed. ABC News with Diane Sawyer has a segment called "Made in America" which discusses products and manufacturers that we can support by buying their American products and helping the economy. Our collective consciences are becoming more and more aware of our need as consumers to buy American products to improve the economy and put Americans back to work. But what are franchisors doing to buy American products, help the economy  and encourage their franchisees to buy American products and select vendors who sell American made products? Read more »