Franchising
A franchise is where a brand and proprietary rights are licensed by the franchisor, as the controller the brand and proprietary rights or method, to others to run a business under the brand and using the proprietary rights. Such rights are usually licensed for a defined geographical area or region.
Here in Australia, franchising is regulated by a code of conduct under the Federal governments, Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). The code is mandatory and so if your business model fits the definition of a franchise under that code, you are bound by it and must comply with it.
The legal requirements under the Franchising Code extend to much more than the franchise agreement, which is generally confined to the conditions around the licence of the brand and proprietary rights to the franchisee. The franchisor is required to maintain a Franchise Disclosure Document, and keep it current. This document is provided to potential franchisees to give them a snapshot of important information about the franchised business, from the territory, CVs of the current directors, financial situation of the franchisor, requirements to purchase certain goods or services of the franchisor and much more. Compiling the initial franchise disclosure document and keeping it up-to-date is a significant task requiring input from within your business, your lawyer and accountant.
The franchisor must also ensure that all franchisees execute a notice informing the franchisor that it has sought legal, financial or business advice from a professional or declined to do so.
Franchising is a serious undertaking and one that will require significant input from an appropriately experienced lawyer.
For franchisors and would be franchisors, we can help you maintain and prepare all of the necessary documentation in accordance with the Franchising Code. For franchisees we can cut through the volume of documentation that you will receive from the franchisor and cut to those items that you need to know to make an informed decision on whether to take on the franchise.
Call us today if you need legal assistance in relation to franchising.
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"Marshall IP Group has been assisting SAI Global with its trade mark, IT and other intellectual property agreements for over 4 years now. They have demonstrated a good understanding of our businesses and services and this commercial understanding is applied to the legal advice and assistance they have provided. They have shown expertise beyond their size and (regional) location and an ability to stand their ground against their City counterparts: you get the quality of a city law firm partner but you are not charged the big city law firm rates. They are pro-active, commercially sensible and this has given me, as a busy in-house Corporate Counsel and Company Secretary, peace of mind in relation to SAI Global’s national and international IP Portfolio and other legal needs. "
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"Marshall Legal helped us out with a particularly nasty allegation of IP rights infringement. They quickly got to the nub of the problem and navigated the complex regime of trade marks and copyright law to diffuse the situation. Not only were the allegations withdrawn but we got our costs back. I would recommend Marshall Legal; not only did they get us a great result, they put our minds at ease throughout the proceeding."
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"I am delighted to recommend Tim Marshall and the team at Marshall IP Group for all aspects of intellectual property and technology law. Marshall IP Group fills an important space in the legal market in regional Australia and Australian capital cities. The businesses that I am heavily involved in, RMB Lawyers and Unison Outsourcing, have both enjoyed excellent advice and customer service from Marshall IP Group in relation to trade marking our businesses and protecting our brand."
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"Nobody likes to have to fight a court case and especially one against an internationally based company, but that was what we found ourselves facing in 2012. We were so lucky we found Tim Marshall of Marshall Legal. We highly recommend his services to anyone who wants a good business lawyer that gives good solid advice on all matters, including Intellectual property matters, trademarks and Patent attorneys who have proved invaluable to our business"
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