Does Bambu have federal registrations for all trademarks and service marks that a franchisee might use?
Bambu Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
tration Date | |---|---|---| | | Reg. No. 5,321,760 | October 31, 2017 | | YONAMI | Reg. No. 7,534,752 | October 15, 2024 | In addition to those Marks listed above, we claim common law service or trademark rights to a number of other words, phrases, or designs that you may use in your Bambū shoppe. The following statements apply solely to any unregistered trademarks and service marks: We do not have a federal registration for these trademarks. Therefore these trademarks do not have as many legal benefits and rights as federally registered trademarks. If our right to use these trademarks is challenged, you may have to change to an alternative trademark, which may increase your expenses.
You must use the mark "BAMBŪ" as the principal identification of your Bambū shoppe. You must also identify yourself as an independent owner of the shoppe, however, in the manner as we may require.
Source: Item 13 — (FDD pages 40–42)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bambu's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, not all trademarks and service marks used in a Bambu shop are federally registered. While Bambu does have federal registrations for certain marks, they also claim common law rights to other unregistered trademarks or service marks.
The FDD lists the following trademarks as registered with the USPTO: BAMBŪ (Reg. No. 5,321,756, October 31, 2017), BAMBU (Reg. No. 4,792,688, August 18, 2015), and YONAMI (Reg. No. 7,534,752, October 15, 2024). However, Bambu acknowledges that for unregistered trademarks, they do not have a federal registration, which means these trademarks do not have as many legal benefits and rights as federally registered trademarks.
This poses a risk to the franchisee because if Bambu's right to use these unregistered trademarks is challenged, the franchisee may have to change to an alternative trademark, potentially increasing expenses. It is important for a prospective franchisee to understand which marks are federally registered and the implications of using unregistered marks in their Bambu shop.