Why should the future franchisor own his brand?

The trademark used in a franchise network must be secured by the franchisor, since this is one of his essential obligations.

The chosen trademark must be distinctive, i.e. able to distinguish the products and services of a company from those of its competitors, but also available, i.e. not infringing on prior rights.

Furthermore, it is essential that the franchisor owns the trademark or has an exclusive license to use the trademark within a network.

Secondly, the trademark registration must be carried out correctly, and must designate the current activity of the franchisor, and the one that it could be brought to develop in a second time. For example, a clothing trademark should think about designating fashion accessories (bags, jewelry, etc.) and even cosmetic products, such as perfumes, in its registration, since the development of such trademarks in these sectors often occurs at a later stage.

Finally, it is also necessary to anticipate the development of the trademark internationally by making registrations in the countries in which the franchisor could be led to develop, in order to avoid that unscrupulous third parties try to appropriate the trademark in one of these countries.

To learn more: read the article from La Référence Franchise