If a franchisee continues to operate a restaurant after termination of the Buona franchise agreement, what is prohibited regarding the use of the Buona Marks?
Buona Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
In particular, and without limitation, Franchisee shall cease to use all signs, menus, advertising and promotional materials, stationery, forms, packaging, containers and any other articles which display the Marks;
(c) In the event Franchisee continues to operate or subsequently begins to operate a restaurant or other business, Franchisee shall not use any reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of the Marks in conjunction with such other business which is likely to cause confusion or mistake or to deceive, and further agrees to remove all unique markings, colors, décor, Marks and other features ("Trade Dress") that identify the Franchised Business as a former Buona Business, and otherwise take all necessary steps to disassociate itself from the System and Franchisor, including but not limited to, the removal of signs and all Trade Dress from the premises of the Franchised Business and destruction of printed materials.
(d) Franchisee acknowledges that all telephone numbers, facsimile numbers, telephone directory listings, e-mail addresses, social media accounts, websites, internet addresses, listings or other presence on the Internet (collectively "Identifiers") used in the operation of the Franchised Business constitute Franchisor's assets, and upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, Franchisee will take such action within five (5) days to assign to Franchisor or Franchisor's designee as determined by Franchisor, all of Franchisee's right, title and interest in and to such Identifiers and will notify the telephone company and all listing agencies, internet service providers, domain name registrars, social media platforms or networks of the termination or expiration of Franchisee's right to use any Identifiers, and to authorize a transfer of the same to Franchisor, or at Franchisor's direction, to its designee.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 78–356)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Buona's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee continues to operate a restaurant after the termination of the franchise agreement, they are prohibited from using any reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of the Buona Marks in conjunction with the other business. This extends to anything that is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception among customers.
To avoid any potential confusion, the franchisee must remove all unique markings, colors, décor, Marks, and other features, collectively known as "Trade Dress," that identify the business as a former Buona Business. The franchisee must take all necessary steps to disassociate itself from the Buona system and franchisor. This includes removing signs and all Trade Dress from the premises and destroying printed materials.
Furthermore, all telephone numbers, fax numbers, telephone directory listings, e-mail addresses, social media accounts, websites, internet addresses, listings, or other presence on the Internet (collectively "Identifiers") used in the operation of the franchised business constitute Buona's assets. Upon termination or expiration of the agreement, the franchisee must take action within five days to assign all rights, titles, and interests in these Identifiers to Buona or its designee. The franchisee must also notify the relevant service providers of the termination of their right to use any Identifiers and authorize the transfer to Buona.