Upon termination or non-renewal, is the All Team franchisee required to complete de-identification?
All_Team Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
[Item 22: CONTRACTS]
- C.
Consequences of Termination.
Upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, for any reason whatsoever, all of FRANCHISEE's rights hereunder shall terminate.
FRANCHISEE shall immediately thereafter discontinue use of all Marks, signs, colors, structures, printed goods and forms of advertising indicative of ATFC's business and return any copyrighted materials which have been provided to FRANCHISEE by ATFC, and if ATFC requests, shall assign its telephone numbers to ATFC, clients, candidates, customers and the employee roster and execute any and all documents necessary to do so.
FRANCHISEE will immediately cease providing services to all customers and candidates and forfeit any rights it may have to the customers, candidates and any customer accounts.
Upon request of ATFC, FRANCHISEE will assign to ATFC any or all of FRANCHISEE'S customer contracts and candidates and ATFC will have the right to either service the accounts or assign the servicing of the accounts to others.
Further, FRANCHISEE shall pay all amounts due to ATFC, ATFC's affiliates, and suppliers.
Further, FRANCHISEE agrees to return any and all materials which contain Confidential Information in whatever form, including but not limited to the Confidential Operating Manual, to ATFC immediately.
FRANCHISEE shall cancel any assumed name registration or equivalent registration obtained by FRANCHISEE which contains the Marks and FRANCHISEE shall furnish ATFC with evidence satisfactory to ATFC of compliance with this obligation within 5 days of the termination, expiration or Transfer.
ATFC reserves the right to conduct a post termination audit to confirm the accuracy of financial reporting, receivables, and compliance with client requirements.
In addition, ATFC will withhold up to $10,000 in customer payments pending the result of the audit, or for up to 12 months after termination, as a reserve for unpaid receivables and customer chargebacks.
Source: Item 17 — RENEWAL, TERMINATION, TRANSFER AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION (FDD pages 28–30)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to All Team's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, upon termination or expiration of the Franchise Agreement, the franchisee is required to take several actions to de-identify their business from the All Team brand. Specifically, the franchisee must immediately discontinue the use of all Marks, signs, colors, structures, printed goods, and forms of advertising that are indicative of All Team's business. This includes ceasing the use of All Team's trademarks and trade dress in any aspect of the business's presentation.
In addition to removing branding elements, the franchisee must return any copyrighted materials provided by All Team. This may include operations manuals, marketing materials, and other proprietary documents. The franchisee is also obligated to cancel any assumed name registrations or equivalent registrations that contain All Team's Marks, and must provide All Team with evidence of compliance within 5 days of termination, expiration, or transfer. Furthermore, All Team has the right to request the assignment of the franchisee's telephone numbers, client lists, candidate information, customer data, and employee rosters.
These requirements ensure that upon termination or expiration of the franchise agreement, the franchisee's business is clearly distinguished from the All Team brand, preventing any potential confusion among customers or the public. The franchisee must cease representing themselves as an All Team franchisee and discontinue using any materials or information associated with the All Team system. Compliance with these de-identification measures is essential to avoid potential legal issues and to protect All Team's brand identity and intellectual property rights.