Upon termination of a Bojangles franchise agreement, must the franchisee comply with Bojangles' then-current qualification and training requirements?
Bojangles Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- B. Franchisee hereby acknowledges that pursuant to this Agreement, Franchisor will provide Franchisee with access to and training in processes and procedures of a proprietary nature and will provide Franchisee with access to and the right to use recipes and formulas, the Manual, logos, designs, trademarks, trade names and other proprietary information in connection with Franchisee's development and operation of the Restaurant. Franchisee acknowledges and agrees that Franchisee shall not at any time, whether during the term of this Agreement or after its expiration or earlier termination, disclose any information obtained through such training or from any materials provided by Franchisor to Franchisee and pertaining to the Bojangles System to any third party other than employees of Franchisee directly involved in the operations of the Restaurant. Further, Franchisee agrees that during the term of this Agreement and after its expiration or earlier termination, it shall not use any of such information or proprietary marks, including but not limited to any processes, procedures, recipes and formulas, for any purpose other than the operation of the Restaurant and will take all steps necessary to prevent any other use of them. Without limiting the foregoing, Franchisee specifically agrees that it shall not during the term of this agreement or after its expiration or earlier termination, offer for sale at any location, other than the Restaurant being operated at that time pursuant to this Agreement, any food or drink products prepared using in whole or part the procedures, processes, techniques, recipes or formulas provided by Franchisor to Franchisee.
- C. Franchisee acknowledges that any failure to comply with the requirements of this Paragraph XI. will cause irreparable injury to Franchisor, and Franchisee agrees to pay all court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by Franchisor in obtaining specific performance of, or an injunction against violation of, the requirements of this Paragraph XI.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 82)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
Based on the 2025 Bojangles Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must not disclose or use proprietary information, such as processes, procedures, recipes, formulas, or trademarks, obtained during the franchise term, even after the agreement expires or terminates. Franchisees are obligated to prevent any other use of this information. Specifically, they cannot sell food or drink products prepared using Bojangles' methods at any location other than the franchised restaurant.
This restriction extends beyond the agreement's term, preventing former franchisees from leveraging Bojangles' confidential information for their own ventures. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in irreparable injury to Bojangles, allowing them to pursue legal remedies, including specific performance or injunctions, with the franchisee responsible for covering all court costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by Bojangles.
While the FDD excerpt does not explicitly state that a franchisee must comply with Bojangles' then-current qualification and training requirements upon termination of the franchise agreement, it does state that the franchisee is not allowed to use any of the information or proprietary marks, including but not limited to any processes, procedures, recipes and formulas, for any purpose other than the operation of the Restaurant and will take all steps necessary to prevent any other use of them.