What happens if a Bath Tune Up franchisee modifies content on their franchisee page?
Bath_Tune_Up Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchisor may permit Franchisee to customize or post certain information to the Franchisee Page, subject to Franchisee's compliance with the procedures, policies, standards, and specifications that Franchisor may establish from time to time.
Any modifications (including customizations, alterations, submissions, or updates) to the content made by Franchisee for any purpose will be considered to be a "work made for hire" under the copyright laws, and therefore, Franchisor will own the intellectual property rights in and to the modifications.
To the extent any modification does not qualify as a work made for hire as outlined above, Franchisee assigns those modifications to Franchisor for no additional consideration and with no further action required and will sign any further assignments as Franchisor may request.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 52)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bath Tune Up's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, any modifications a franchisee makes to their Franchisee Page will be considered a "work made for hire" under copyright laws. This means that Bath Tune Up will own the intellectual property rights to these modifications.
To the extent that any modification does not qualify as a work made for hire, the franchisee is required to assign those modifications to Bath Tune Up. This assignment is done without any additional compensation to the franchisee and requires no further action from Bath Tune Up. The franchisee must also sign any further assignments that Bath Tune Up requests.
In practical terms, this means that while a Bath Tune Up franchisee may be permitted to customize their page with certain information, they do not own the rights to those modifications. Bath Tune Up retains full ownership and control over any changes made to the Franchisee Page, ensuring brand consistency and protecting its intellectual property. This is a fairly standard practice in franchising, as franchisors need to maintain uniformity across all franchisee locations.