What is the Annex Brands franchisee's responsibility regarding the content of their website?
Annex_Brands Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
. Your Website. We must approve any website (or equivalent electronic advertising) that utilizes the Marks before publication and approve any modification prior to publishing updates. If we establish our website, we will prepare and post a designated area on our website for the purpose of promoting your Center ("your website"). Your website will be accessible without charge to anyone with access to the Internet. You may not maintain another website without our prior written consent. (The terms "Franchisor's prior written consent", and "our prior written consent", as used in the franchise agreement, and its attachments, and this Agreement, mean consent that is given by Franchisor based on then-current circumstances, but that may be
withdrawn by Franchisor, if Franchisor later determines in its sole discretion that circumstances have changed, effective upon giving Franchisee 30 days' prior written notice of withdrawal.)
- (a) Standard Web Pages. The initial fee for creation and posting of standard web pages is currently included in your technology services fee, but we reserve the right to change this in the future. We will design the content of standard web pages.
- (b) Customized Standard Web Pages or Website. If we offer customization services, you may request us to customize portions of your standard web pages or create a customized website for you. We will not commence any design or programming work for you that will entail additional charges without your prior written approval. Once you agree, we will charge you at our then-current rate for design or programming services, and we may charge you an annual fee for maintaining a customized website for you. We will design the layout, including but not limited to determination of content, number of pages, consideration of alternate pages for graphics or text, and the overall navigation; create the programming code for display on the Internet including but not limited to the encoding of images, the creation of hyperlinking of both text and images, and the creation of email hyperlinking; and test the programming code. You agree to submit to us, in computer-readable, digital form, any additional text and graphics you would like us to include on your customized standard web pages or in your website. If a 3rd party owns any copyright, trademark or other intellectual property right which relates or pertains to any part of any content you deliver to us, you must obtain all necessary rights or licenses, at your sole cost and expense, so that our rights in and to such content will be no less than if such intellectual property right belonged to you and were licensed to us pursuant to Section 7 hereof. To post a website that you develop or to move an existing website to our website, you must submit the programming code to us to facilitate our development of your website.
- (c) Customized E-Commerce Services. We may make various e-commerce services available to you for reasonable fees. We will periodically notify you, in our Manuals, in bulletins, in our newsletter (360 Today), in postings on our Intranet franchisee support site, by email, by publishing a list, in writing or otherwise, of available e-commerce services, together with a schedule of applicable fees. We also may provide a method by which you may be able to offer websites to your customers and to offer to your customers some of the same e-commerce services that will be available to you. Currently, you are not required to use any of these e-commerce services, but we reserve the right to make this a requirement in the future. We reserve the right to discontinue or modify these e-commerce services, in our sole discretion.
- (d) Approval & Posting of Customized Standard Web Pages or Your Customized Website. For customized standard web pages, depending on the complexity of the requested customizations, we may either publish them to our website after the customizations are completed or send or present to you a copy of your customizations for your approval.
Source: Item 22 — Contracts (FDD pages 109–110)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 FDD, Annex Brands franchisees have several responsibilities regarding their website. Annex Brands must approve any website (or equivalent electronic advertising) that utilizes the Marks before publication and approve any modification prior to publishing updates. Franchisees must also review their customized website and, within a reasonable time, either inform Annex Brands of reasonable changes they would like to make or inform them in writing of their approval, which approval they will not unreasonably withhold. Once the customized standard web pages or customized website has been posted, Annex Brands may ask the franchisee to verify the content at any time, for accuracy or otherwise, and the franchisee must promptly respond to any such request, either in writing or by email.
Annex Brands may advertise and promote the franchisee's web pages or website as part of their promotion of their website, and they may also advertise and promote the franchisee's web pages or website without the franchisee's prior approval of any such advertising or promotion. Within the franchisee's web pages or website, Annex Brands may include any advertising or promotion of and links to websites of any 3rd parties that they deem desirable, as well as any other materials or content they deem appropriate. The franchisee must notify Annex Brands of any website known to them that features or lists them in their capacity as a franchisee and to notify them of any new websites as they periodically list them.
Annex Brands will prepare and post a designated area on their website for the purpose of promoting the franchisee's Center. The franchisee's website will be accessible without charge to anyone with access to the Internet. The franchisee may not maintain another website without Annex Brands's prior written consent. The franchisee's web pages or website will not have a separate domain name of its own but will be a subdirectory under Annex Brands's domain name.
These stipulations mean that while Annex Brands provides support and may create and host the franchisee's website, the franchisee has an ongoing responsibility to review and approve the content, ensure its accuracy, and adhere to Annex Brands's guidelines. The franchisee also relinquishes some control over advertising and content displayed on their website, as Annex Brands retains the right to promote third-party links and advertising. Franchisees need to maintain open communication with Annex Brands regarding their online presence and any websites that mention their franchise location.