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Alt Legal Blog

Your source for news, updates and guidance on all things trademarks and intellectual property.

Alt Legal WebinarAs the Need Franchises: Licensing vs. Franchising in IP

Alt Legal Team | March 31, 2023
2 min read

This webinar was recorded on May 4, 2023.

Often franchisors—and sometimes also their attorneys—fail to properly adhere to FTC franchising laws. Franchisors sometimes cut corners to bypass proper franchising regulations and save the expenses associated with franchising by licensing their brand concepts instead. However, this practice may cause brand owners to jeopardize their intellectual property or cause them difficulty if they exert too much control, supervision, and power over these licensed trademarks and concepts.

During this webinar, L&F Brown attorney Chris Howard explains the distinctions between franchising and licensing to help attorneys determine which will best fit each unique situation. In particular, Chris discusses:

  • The nuances of when to franchise rather than license intellectual property
  • Item 13 of the Franchise Disclosure Document as it pertains to trademarks
  • Relevant case law, including the historic Dawn Donut v. Hart’s Food Stores decision
  • Emergency arbitration when a mark is being misappropriated

View webinar recording here (registration required.)

You can download the presentation materials here.

Speaker

Chris Howard, Associate Attorney at L&F Brown
Chris Howard is a franchise attorney who advises prospective franchisees before they enter into a franchise relationship and current franchisees involved in a dispute with their franchisor. After graduating from SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Chris started his legal career working at Mullin Law, PC, one of the largest franchise specialist firms in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Here, he represented large franchisors, helped negotiate franchise agreements for franchisees, and negotiated resolutions whenever disputes arose.  While Chris was at Mullin, he wrote a published article in the Franchise Bar Journal distributed by the American Bar Association.  Chris has worked on franchising employment, trademark, and other corporate matters at Jamba and Zoe’ss Kitchen/Cava as well.

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