Are there any pending legal proceedings involving the Brightstar Care trademarks?

ically by Bright Star Nevada and us.

There are currently no effective determinations of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the trademark administrator of any state, or any court; no pending interference, opposition, or cancellation proceedings; and no pending material litigation involving the Marks. You must promptly notify us of any suspected unauthorized use of the Marks, any challenge to the validity of the Marks, or any challenge to our ownership of, our right to use and to license others to use, or

your right to use the Marks. We have the sole right to direct and control any administrative proceeding or litigation involving the Marks, including the right to settle the proceedings or litigation. We have the exclusive right, but not the obligation, to affirmatively prosecute actions against third parties for infringement or threatened infringement of the Marks.

We or our affiliates have the sole right to handle disputes with third parties regarding the Marks. You must immediately notify us in writing if you learn of any improper or infringing use of any Mark. We have the right to take any action we deem best, including to take no action, and the sole right to control any legal proceeding or negotiation resulting from any infringement, challenge, or claim or otherwise relating to the Marks. You may not settle or compromise any claim, suit, or demand asserted against you; you will be bound by our decisions in handling disputes regarding the Marks. You must fully cooperate with us and sign any documents and perform any actions we deem necessary, appropriate, or advisable to defend claims, suits, or demands and to protect and maintain our rights in the Marks. Unless it is established that a third-party claim asserted against you is based, directly or indirectly, on your misuse of the Marks, we will defend you at our cost against the third-party claim relating to the Marks, provided you have notified us immediately after learning of the claim and fully cooperate in the defense. Because we will defend the third-party claim relating to the Marks, you are not entitled to reimbursement for legal or other professional fees or costs paid to independent legal counsel or others in the matter. Despite our agreement to defend you, we are not liable to indemnify or reimburse you for any liability, costs, expenses, damages, or losses you sustain because of the third-party claim (unrelated to the costs of defense).

We are not aware of any superior prior rights or infringing uses that could materially affect your use of the Marks in any state; however, a federal trademark registration does not necessarily protect the use of the concerned mark against a prior user in a given relevant market area. Therefore, before entering into the Franchise Agreement, you should make every effort to ascertain that there are no existing uses of the Marks or confusingly similar marks in the market area where you wish to do business. You should immediately notify us of any confusingly similar marks you discover.

You may use only the Marks we designate and may use them only in the manner we authorize and permit. You may use the Marks only to operate the Agency and only at the Approved Location. You may not use the Marks as part of your corporate or other legal name. You must use your corporate or limited liability company name either alone or followed by the initials "D/B/A" and the business name "BrightStar Care." You must promptly register at the office of the county in which your Agency is located, or such other public office required by law, as doing business under such assumed business name.

Source: Item 13 — TRADEMARKS (FDD pages 75–77)