What specific trademarks does Bambu license to franchisees?
Bambu Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
a different name or trademark, although, as just stated, we reserve the right to do so.
ITEM 13
TRADEMARKS
We license to you the nonexclusive right to use the Marks, including the following trademarks that are registered on the Principal Register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO"):
| Mark | Registration No. | Registration Date | |---|---|---| | BAMBŪ | Reg. No. 5,321,756 | October 31, 2017 | | BAMBU | Reg. No. 4,792,688 | August 18, 2015 |
| Mark | Registration No. | Registration 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. You may not use any of the Marks or words that are confusingly similar to the Mark as part of any corporate or trade name or with any prefix to identify unauthorized services or products or in any other manner not expressly authorized in writing by us. Except as permitted in the FRC Materials, you may not use any of the Marks as part of an electronic mail address or on any sites on the Internet and you may not use or register any of the Marks as part of a domain name on the Internet. You must modify or discontinue your use of the Marks if we require modification or discontinuance, at your own expense.
As of the date of this Disclosure Document, there are no presently effective determinations of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the trademark administrator of any state or any court, any pending infringement, opposition or cancellation proceedings or material litigation involving the Marks.
We have filed all required affidavits for the registered Marks. The registrations for the above listed Marks have been renewed as necessary to keep these registrations in effect. We intend to continue to renew our Mark registrations at the appropriate time.
No agreements limit our right to use or license the use of the Marks.
You should bring any uses of names or marks confusingly similar to the Marks to our attention immediately.
We are aware of other businesses that use names similar to the Marks in certain areas. Some of these other businesses have federally registered trademarks covering similar goods and services such as restaurants and coffee products.
Source: Item 13 — (FDD pages 40–42)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bambu's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are granted a nonexclusive right to use specific trademarks registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. These marks include "BAMBŪ" (Registration No. 5,321,756, registered October 31, 2017), "BAMBU" (Registration No. 4,792,688, registered August 18, 2015), and "YONAMI" (Registration No. 7,534,752, registered October 15, 2024). The franchisee must prominently display the "BAMBŪ" mark at their location and identify themselves as an independent owner.
Bambu also claims common law trademark rights to other unregistered words, phrases, or designs used in the shoppe. However, these unregistered trademarks do not have the same legal protections as federally registered ones. If Bambu's right to use these unregistered trademarks is challenged, franchisees may be required to switch to an alternative trademark, potentially increasing their expenses.
Bambu retains significant control over the use of its trademarks. Franchisees cannot use any marks confusingly similar to Bambu's marks, nor can they use the marks in unauthorized ways, such as in domain names or email addresses, without express written consent. Bambu can also require franchisees to modify or discontinue the use of the marks at the franchisee's own expense. Bambu will manage any litigation related to the trademarks, covering attorney's fees and court costs, and franchisees are required to cooperate in such litigation and cannot settle claims without written consent from Bambu.