Franchise Law

Read Commercial Law & Contracts updates, alerts, news, and analysis from leading lawyers and law firms:

News & Analysis as of May 23, 2013

How To Represent Prospective Franchisees And Franchisors

by Mark Miller | Jackson Walker on 1/12/2013

FRANCHISING PRIMER - I. INTRODUCTION - A. In General Franchising is a method of distribution that combines the advantages of a central specialized system with the capital and micro-management of local independent...more

The Unintended Franchise: If It Quacks Like A Duck . . .

by Matthew Kreutzer | Armstrong Teasdale LLP on 1/10/2013

Originally published in Nevada Business Magazine on 1/1/2013. Are you operating a franchise system without realizing it? If you are licensing to others the right to use your trademark for a fee, the answer could be yes....more

Focused on Franchise Law - December 2012

by Barry Kurtz on 12/20/2012

In This Issue: - Franchisor 101: FTC Updates Definition of "Exclusive Territory" - Franchisee 101: No Franchise If You Don't Pay A Fee - Barry Kurtz Honored As 2013 Super Lawyer ...more

Franchise E-Review: September 2012 - Frequently Asked Questions

by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 10/5/2012

What is the current state of Canadian law regarding pricing practices between franchisors and franchisees? While the practice of price maintenance has been reduced from a criminal offence to a reviewable practice under...more

FTC Expands ‘Business Opportunity’ to Include Work-At-Home Enterprises

by Ballard Spahr LLP on 6/20/2012

The Federal Trade Commission has expanded the definition of a “business opportunity” to include work-at-home opportunities in a new Business Opportunity Rule that also simplifies the required disclosures to one page plus...more

Franchise and Competition Class Actions: Dismissal of Tim Hortons Class Action Is Good News for Franchisors

by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 3/7/2012

In a sweeping decision with significant implications for franchise and other vertical distribution arrangements, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has dismissed a $2 billion franchise and competition class action against...more

Can A Franchisor Require Franchisees to Buy Supplies, Ingredients, or Products From It?

by Howard Ullman on 2/29/2012

The antitrust laws sometimes forbid product “tying.” A tying arrangement is an agreement by a party to sell one product on the condition that the buyer also purchases a different (or tied) product. In the...more

Franchising - what can a franchisee do if things go wrong?

by Jane Lambert on 2/6/2012

Following on from my article on the franchise agreement I consider what a franchisee can do if his franchise fails despite his or her best efforts. The franchise agreement is likely to contain a term that enables the...more

The franchise agreement: understanding what you are letting yourself in for.

by Jane Lambert on 1/20/2012

If you take a franchise you will be asked to sign a contract which will be at least 30 pages long. This contract will have been drafted by the franchisor's lawyers and it will look after the franchisor's interests and not...more

PMPA Franchise Agreement Disavowing Plaintiff's Claim to an Exclusive Market and Geographic Territory Trumps Alleged Oral...

by Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 6/12/2009

Partner v. ExxonMobil Oil Corp., 08-1590 (6th Cir. May 4, 2009) In 2000, plaintiff Partner & Partner, Inc. entered into a lease/franchise agreement with ExxonMobil to operate a Mobil-branded gasoline station. The lease...more