If Brightstar Care decides to apply for a patent or copyright on a franchisee's improvements, what are the franchisee's and their employees' obligations?
Brightstar_Care Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
hip with those clients or customers.
If you develop any improvements to the Agency, including any enhancements, adaptations, derivative works, modifications, or new processes ("Improvements") in operating the Agency, you must grant back to us exclusive rights in these Improvements in consideration for our granting you the franchise without any obligation on our part to pay you any consideration. We may incorporate the Improvements as part of the BrightStar Care Agency Program and allow all franchisees to use the Improvements without paying you any compensation. If we decide to apply for patent or copyright registration for any Improvements, we will do so at our own expense, and you and your employees must sign all documents to enable us to secure all rights to the Improvements. Each of
your employees must cooperate with this requirement. This does not mean you may modify your Agency, which is prohibited without our prior written consent.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 77–79)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Brightstar Care's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee develops any improvements to the Brightstar Care agency, including enhancements, adaptations, derivative works, modifications, or new processes, the franchisee must grant exclusive rights to these improvements back to Brightstar Care. This is in exchange for Brightstar Care granting the franchise to the franchisee, and Brightstar Care is not obligated to provide any additional compensation for these improvements.
Brightstar Care has the right to incorporate these improvements into the Brightstar Care Agency Program and allow all franchisees to use them without compensating the franchisee who developed them. If Brightstar Care decides to seek patent or copyright registration for any improvements, it will do so at its own expense.
In such cases, the franchisee and their employees are obligated to sign all necessary documents to enable Brightstar Care to secure all rights to the improvements. The FDD emphasizes that each employee must cooperate with this requirement. However, this does not grant the franchisee the right to modify their agency without prior written consent from Brightstar Care.