Does Apricot Lane own any patents material to the franchise?
Apricot_Lane Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
[Item 14: PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION]
All of your employees having access to the confidential information of COUNTRY VISIONS must sign confidentiality agreements in a form acceptable to COUNTRY VISIONS.
As a condition of using our Intranet, you must accept and abide by the Terms of Use, including the security and protection of proprietary and confidential information accessed or downloaded through the Intranet.
You must at all times insure that your copy of the Confidential Operations Manual in whatever media it is stored, is available at the Franchised Business premises in a current and up-to-date manner. At all times that the Confidential Operations Manual is not in use by authorized personnel, you must maintain the Confidential Operations Manual in a secure area and manner at the premises of the Franchised Business, and will not allow any unauthorized persons access to that area or to any computer system or other electronic device through which the Confidential Operations Manual can be accessed. All information regarding customers of franchisees is considered "confidential information" of COUNTRY VISIONS.
All ideas, concepts, techniques or materials relating to an Apricot Lane Store (collectively, "Innovations"), whether or not protectable intellectual property and whether created by or for you or your owners, employees or contractors, must be promptly disclosed to COUNTRY VISIONS and is COUNTRY VISIONS' sole and exclusive property, part of the System, and works made-for-hire for COUNTRY VISIONS. To the extent any Innovation does not qualify as a work made-for-hire for COUNTRY VISIONS, you assign ownership of that Innovation, and all related rights to that Innovation, to COUNTRY VISIONS and agrees to sign whatever assignment or other documents COUNTRY VISIONS requests to evidence COUNTRY VISIONS' ownership or to help COUNTRY VISIONS obtain intellectual property rights in the Innovation. COUNTY VISIONS and its affiliates have no obligation to make any payments to you or any other person with respect to any Innovations. You may not use any Innovation in operating your Store or otherwise without our prior approval.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 33–34)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Apricot Lane Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 14 addresses patents, copyrights, and proprietary information. However, the document does not explicitly state whether Apricot Lane owns any patents material to the franchise.
The FDD does state that all ideas, concepts, techniques, or materials relating to an Apricot Lane store, whether or not they are protectable intellectual property, and whether created by or for the franchisee or their owners, employees, or contractors, must be promptly disclosed to Country Visions. These innovations are Country Visions' sole and exclusive property, part of the System, and considered works made-for-hire for Country Visions. If any innovation does not qualify as a work made-for-hire, the franchisee assigns ownership and all related rights to Country Visions and agrees to sign any documents necessary to evidence Country Visions' ownership or to help them obtain intellectual property rights in the innovation. Country Visions and its affiliates have no obligation to make any payments to the franchisee or any other person with respect to any innovations, and the franchisee may not use any innovation in operating their store without prior approval.
While the FDD does not confirm if Apricot Lane possesses any patents, it emphasizes the franchisor's ownership of any innovations related to the Apricot Lane store. A prospective franchisee should seek clarification from Apricot Lane regarding any existing patents and the process for protecting new innovations developed within their franchise.