Protecting the franchisor’s intellectual property

The essence of franchising is that a franchisor grants a licence to the franchisee to use the franchisor’s intellectual property in conducting the business. Accordingly, the franchisor’s intellectual property is an essential element of the conduct of any franchised business. The term “intellectual property”, in the context of franchising is used to mean:

• • patents;
• • designs;
• • trade marks;
• • copyright;
• • business names;
• • company names; and
• • know-how.

However, from a legal point of view, business names, company names and know-how are not intellectual property, as they are not property capable of being owned.

See Protecting the franchisor’s intellectual property.