Who is considered the 'Franchisor' for an Aplus franchise?

Franchisee shall pay to Franchisor without offset, credit, or deduction of any nature, a fee ("Royalty Fee") in the amount stated and in compliance with the timeframe described on Attachment 1. The Franchisor requires Franchisee to pay Royalty Fees through electronic transfer as set forth in Section 3.7, which shall be submitted to Franchisor through a method that Franchisor approves.

Franchisee shall submit to Franchisor, for its prior approval, all advertising and promotional materials to be used by Franchisee including, but not limited to, billboards, television ads, radio ads, ad copy, coupons, flyers, scripts, sponsorships, and direct mail. Franchisor shall use reasonable efforts to provide notice of approval or disapproval within thirty (30) days from the date all requested material is received by Franchisor.

Franchisee shall defend, indemnify and hold Franchisor and its affiliates, subsidiaries and parents, and their respective officers, directors, managers, members, partners, shareholders, independent contractors and employees (the "Indemnified Parties") harmless from all fines, suits, proceedings, claims, demands, liabilities, injuries, damages, expenses, obligations or actions of any kind (including costs and reasonable attorneys' fees) arising in whole or in part from Franchisee's ownership, operation, or occupation of the Franchised Business and APLUS Store, performance or breach of its obligations under this Agreement, failure to meet Franchisor requirements and System standards, breach of any warranty or representation in this Agreement or from the acts or omissions of Franchisee, its employees or agents, including its advertising of the Franchised Business, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement. Franchisor and any Indemnified Party shall promptly give Franchisee written notice of any claim for indemnification under this Section 21.3. Any failure to give the notice shall not relieve Franchisee of any liability under this Agreement except to the extent the failure or delay causes actual material prejudice. Franchisor shall have the right to control all litigation, and defend and/or settle any claim against Franchisor or other Indemnified Parties affecting Franchisor's interests, in any manner Franchisor deems appropriate. Franchisor may also retain its own counsel to represent Franchisor or other Indemnified Parties and Franchisee shall advance or

Franchisee agrees that Franchisor has the right to assign its rights or delegate the performance of any portion or all of Franchisor's rights or obligations under this Agreement to third party designees, an area representative (if applicable), or independent contractors with whom Franchisor contracts to perform these obligations without the prior written consent of the Franchisee. If Franchisor assigns its rights to receive any amount under this Agreement to any third-party, Franchisee recognizes that they shall be liable for all compliance and shall make such payments directly to the designated third-party.

Franchisor has the right (but not the obligation), for a period of sixty (60) days after termination or expiration of this Agreement, to purchase any or all assets of the Franchised Business including improvements, vehicles, service tools and equipment, supplies and other inventory or equipment. The purchase price shall be equal to the assets' fair market value, as determined by an independent appraiser. If Franchisor elects to exercise this option to purchase, it has the right to set off all amounts due from Franchisee under this Agreement, if any, against the purchase price.

Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 68–302)