What is Bojangles' obligation to protect my rights to use the principal trademarks?
Bojangles Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
hich any Restaurant is to be located. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to preserve and protect our ownership in and validity of the principal trademarks.
You must promptly notify us of any suspected unauthorized use of the principal trademarks and of any litigation involving the principal trademarks that is threatened or instituted against you. We are not obligated by the Franchise Agreement, nor otherwise, to protect any rights granted to you to use the principal trademarks or to protect you against claims of infringement or unfair competition with respect to them. We have the sole right to direct and control any administrative proceeding or litigation involving the principal trademarks, including any settlement.
We reserve the right to modify or discontinue principal trademarks or substitute different principal trademarks for use in identifying the Bojangles System and the businesses operating under it at our sole discretion and will have no obligation or liability to you as a result of any modification, discontinuance or substitution.
ITEM 14 PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION
As of the date of this disclosure document, we do not own any patents or patent applications that are material to your Restaurant or the Bojangles System.
We claim copyright protection in our building prototype plans and specifications, advertising and promotional materials, websites, social media sites, artistic designs and a variety of forms and programs. The information contained in these items may be used only with our permission, and at our direction. We also own business and technical information, such as our Manual, training materials, market research, formulas, patterns, programs, devices, compilations of information, methods, techniques, and processes that we maintain as trade secrets. We have not registered those materials with the United States Registrar of Copyrights.
You must operate your Restaurant in accordance with the Manual. The Manual may be provided to you by electronic access rather than physical, written copy.
Source: Item 13 — TRADEMARKS (FDD pages 50–52)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bojangles's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Bojangles states that it will take all steps reasonably necessary to preserve and protect their ownership and the validity of the principal trademarks. However, Bojangles is not obligated by the Franchise Agreement, nor otherwise, to protect any rights granted to a franchisee to use the principal trademarks or to protect a franchisee against claims of infringement or unfair competition with respect to them. Bojangles retains the sole right to direct and control any administrative proceeding or litigation involving the principal trademarks, including any settlement.
In the event litigation involving the principal trademarks is instituted or threatened against a franchisee, and the franchisee promptly notifies Bojangles, Bojangles will conduct the defense and bear the expense of such litigation. Bojangles is also entitled to settle or otherwise dispose of the litigation on terms which, in their sole discretion, they may decide. The franchisee must cooperate fully with Bojangles in defending or settling such litigation.
Bojangles also reserves the right to modify or discontinue principal trademarks or substitute different principal trademarks for use in identifying the Bojangles system and the businesses operating under it at their sole discretion and will have no obligation or liability to the franchisee as a result of any modification, discontinuance, or substitution. The right to use the principal trademarks granted in the Franchise Agreement is non-exclusive. Bojangles retains the rights to use the principal trademarks in connection with selling products and services, to grant other licenses for the principal trademarks, and to develop and establish other systems using the same or similar principal trademarks, or any other principal trademarks, and to grant licenses or franchises thereto without providing any rights therein to the franchisee.