Manning, Fulton &, Skinner, P.A. is pleased to announce that Ritchie W. Taylor, head of its Franchise & Hospitality practice group, has been recognized in the 2024 ‘Legal Eagles’ list by Franchise Times magazine. Mr. Taylor has been routinely recognized in the publication, continuing to represent Manning Fulton as one of the top franchise firms in North Carolina and nationally. Ritchie represents both franchisors and multi-unit franchisees and is routinely recognized for his work in franchise and business law by a variety of publications including Franchise Tim ..read more

What is a Franchise Agreement? The franchise agreement is the legal agreement executed between the franchisor and franchisee that creates the legal foundation for the franchise relationship. It defines the parties’ rights, obligations, and protections. There is no standard form for a franchise agreement because each agreement varies greatly depending on the applicable industry and business model being offered.  A clear and well-drafted franchise agreement protects both the franchisor and the franchisee. For franchisors, the franchise agreement will protect your brand, grant the licensing ..read more

With the opening of another year, you may be considering brand expansion through franchising. While there is no magic formula to tell you if you would be a good franchisor or if your business is a perfect fit for the franchise model, the questions below provide a starting point for your analysis. What underlies each of these questions is the reality that becoming a franchisor is starting a new business – the business of franchising. Simply being an excellent operator of your existing business is not alone enough to make you a successful franchisor. However, it is a great start and with additi ..read more

Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released a set of revisions to its Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (“Endorsement Guides”) which instruct businesses on how to navigate the FTC Act and how to avoid engaging in unfair or deceptive trade practices.  These revisions were intended to modernize the Endorsement Guides to address new advertising channels such as social media, online influencers and artificial intelligence and were released alongside an update to the FTC’s Frequently Asked Questions webpage (FTC’s Endorsement Guides: Wha ..read more

In the trademark and copyright law world, few disputes have garnered the attention of both the legal and culinary world quite like the “Taco Tuesday” debate. The controversy revolved around the rights to a popular phrase that has been simmering for years, pitting businesses against each other and igniting a discussion around the usage of common expressions. “Taco Tuesday” is a phrase that’s widely used across the United States to promote restaurant deals for tacos sold on a Tuesday. While the term might seem commonplace, that is the focus of the legal dispute. In the late 1980’s, Taco John’s ..read more

Effective October 1, 2023, North Carolina streamlined franchisor compliance with the North Carolina Business Opportunity Act.  The adopted revisions to the North Carolina Business Opportunity Act (“Act”) proposed by the North Carolina Business Law Section task force led by the author eliminate the 40+ year burden imposed on franchisors who are otherwise compliant with the FTC Franchise Rule but are considered business opportunities under North Carolina law because they lack a federally registered trademark. Under prior law, these subset of franchisors would be required to provide a prospe ..read more

The average consumer probably associates franchising with the popular fast casual restaurant across the street from their office, their favorite gym down the street, or some other brick-and-mortar building where they obtain routine or specialized products and services. Franchising, however, covers a broad scope of industries and many operate without a brick-and-mortar location where the products or services are provided. These industries include on-demand auto care, residential or commercial cleaning, home and yard maintenance or upgrades, senior care, pet care, consulting, and advertising ser ..read more

The recent rebranding of Twitter to X has jolted users of the social media platform and the public generally. The move has been met with mixed reactions, with some praising the change as a bold new direction for the company and others criticizing it as a risky and unnecessary gamble. From an intellectual property protection perspective, the change is puzzling both because of what Elon Musk gives up by abandoning the Twitter trademark and because of the costs and legal challenges he is inviting by changing to an arguably weaker trademark. Twitter is a rare company to have developed such signif ..read more

At some point in most franchise sales conversations a prospective franchisee will ask “So, what’s the size of my territory?” Some franchisors grant franchisees a geographic area, or territory, in which the franchisor agrees not to conduct certain competitive activity, like placing another unit. For some types of businesses, the territory is the only area where the franchisee can conduct marketing or serve customers. If a franchisor decides to grant franchisees a territory, it will disclose critical details about territory protections and size in Item 12 of its Franchise Disclosure Document ..read more

On June 8, 2023, the Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in the case of Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC. The ruling has significant implications for trademark law, particularly concerning the fair use and non-commercial use exceptions, which both permit certain otherwise-infringing uses of a registered mark if the use qualifies for first amendment protections as parody, criticism, or commentary. In this blog post, we will explore the key aspects of the decision and its potential implications for clients with registered trademarks. The case centered around VIP Prod ..read more