Franchise agreement

rdf:langString Franchise agreement

rdf:langString A franchise agreement is a legal, binding contract between a franchisor and franchisee. In the United States franchise agreements are enforced at the State level. Prior to a franchisee signing a contract, the US Federal Trade Commission regulates information disclosures under the authority of The Franchise Rule. The Franchise Rule requires a franchisee be supplied a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) (originally called Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC)) prior to signing a franchise agreement, a minimum of fourteen days before signing a franchise agreement. Once the Federal ten-day waiting period has passed, the Franchise Agreement becomes a State level jurisdiction document. Each state has unique laws regarding franchise agreements. A franchise agreement contents can vary significantly in content depending upon the franchise system, the state jurisdiction of the franchisor, franchisee, and arbitrator. It overall provides the investor with a product, a branded name and recognition, and a support system. A typical franchise agreement contains * Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) * Disclosures required by state laws * Parties defined in the agreement * Recitals, such as Ownership of System, and Objectives of Parties * Definitions, such asAgreement, Territory Area, Area Licensee, Authorized deductions, Gross Receipts, License Network, The System Manual, Trademarks, Start Date, Trade name, Termination, Transfer of license. * Licensed Rights, such asTerritory, Rights Reserved, Term and Renewal, Minimum Performance Standard * Franchisors Services, such asAdministration, Collections and Billing, Consultation, Marketing, Manual, Training and Vendor Negotiation * Franchisee Payments, such asInitial Franchise Fee, Training Fees, Marketing Fund, Royalties, Renewal fee, and Transfer fee * Franchisee Obligations, such asUse of Trademarks, Financial Information, Insurance, Financial and Legal responsibility * Relationship of Parties, such asConfidentiality, Indemnification, Non-Compete clauses * Transfer of License, such asConsent of franchisor, Termination of license, Termination by licensee * Other provisions * Governing law * Amendments * Waivers * Arbitration * Severability