What happens to the copyrights of advertising and promotional materials submitted by a Bumper Man franchisee to the franchisor?
Bumper_Man Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
(c) Intellectual Property Rights. Franchisor will be the sole owner of all right, title and interest in and to any Intellectual Property created as a result of or related to the operation of the Bumper Business and any improvements, modifications or derivative works of Franchisee's operation of the Bumper Business in compliance with the Standards or other activities under this Agreement. Franchisor does not grant Franchisee any ownership interest or right with respect to any Intellectual Property created as a result of Franchisee's operation of the Bumper Business. A default under or termination of this Agreement will not impact Franchisor's rights in the Intellectual Property.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 45–180)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Bumper Man FDD, Bumper Man will be the sole owner of all right, title, and interest in any intellectual property created as a result of or related to the operation of the Bumper Man business. This includes any improvements, modifications, or derivative works of the franchisee's operation in compliance with the standards or other activities under the franchise agreement.
Bumper Man does not grant the franchisee any ownership interest or right with respect to any intellectual property created as a result of the franchisee's operation of the business. This means that any advertising or promotional materials a franchisee develops for their Bumper Man business, the copyright and ownership of those materials will belong to Bumper Man.
This clause ensures that Bumper Man maintains control over its brand and marketing. Even if a franchisee comes up with a particularly successful advertising campaign, Bumper Man retains the right to use that campaign across the entire franchise system without compensating the original franchisee. This is a common practice in franchising, as it allows the franchisor to maintain brand consistency and leverage the collective creativity of its franchisees.