Does Burneys Sweets More currently own any patent applications material to the franchise business?
Burneys_Sweets_More Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
We do not currently own any rights in any patents, patent applications, nor have we registered any copyrights that are material to the franchise business.
Our Brand Standards Manual and other materials contain our and our affiliates' confidential information (some of which constitutes trade secrets under applicable law) (the "Confidential Information"). This information includes any information, not generally known to the public, in any form, relating to the System and the Shop and its operations, including all trade secrets of the Shop; all knowledge, know-how, standards, methods, and procedures related to the establishment and operation of the Shop not generally known to the public; all records pertaining to customers, suppliers, and other service providers of, and/or related in any way to, the Shop (such as all names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses for customers and suppliers; customer purchase records and mail lists); product formulas and recipes, methods of production; electronic code, designs, marketing materials, and business, sales, and marketing strategies; financial information; databases; training materials; knowledge of the franchise system; and any other data and information that we or our affiliates designates as confidential, including all information contained in the Brand Standards Manual.
You must strictly limit your employees' access to the Confidential Information. You must share Confidential Information with them only to the extent they have a "need to know" to perform their jobs. All persons to whom you grant access to the Brand Standards Manual or any other Confidential Information and any person who attends any training program we conduct must sign our form of confidentiality agreement. You must use the Confidential Information only in the manner required by us. You must fully and strictly comply with all security measures required by us for maintaining the confidentiality of the Confidential Information.
If you or your owners, officers, directors, managers, employees, or contractors conceive, invent, create, design and/or develop any ideas, techniques, methods, processes or procedures, recipes, designs, formulae, products, packaging or other concepts and features relating to Shop operations, business practices, or the manufacturing, production, marketing or sale of baked goods and other dessert food or beverage products or related goods in connection with the Shop (the "Innovations"), you (or they) will be deemed to have assigned all of your (or other) rights, title and interests in the Innovations, including any intellectual property rights, to us. You and your owners, officers, managers and employees also must cooperate with us in connection with protecting the Innovations, including executing any and all instruments and do any and all acts necessary to establish our ownership of the Innovations.
If you reproduce any items or materials suitable for copyright protection, you must make sure that each item bears a copyright notice in the form specified by us.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS, AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 37–39)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Burneys Sweets More's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Burneys Sweets More does not currently own any rights in any patents or patent applications that are material to the franchise business, nor have they registered any copyrights that are material to the franchise business. However, franchisees will be able to utilize Burneys Sweets More's proprietary information in their Brand Standards Manual, recipes, cooking and baking techniques, and business processes, all of which are trade secrets owned by Burneys Sweets More.
Burneys Sweets More considers its Brand Standards Manual and other materials to contain confidential information, including trade secrets. This covers any non-public information relating to the Burneys Sweets More system, the shop and its operations, trade secrets, knowledge, standards, methods, procedures, customer and supplier records, product formulas and recipes, electronic code, designs, marketing materials, business strategies, financial information, databases, training materials, and any other data designated as confidential. Franchisees must limit employee access to this confidential information and ensure anyone with access signs a confidentiality agreement.
Burneys Sweets More also states that if a franchisee or their personnel develop any innovations related to shop operations, business practices, or the creation of baked goods, these innovations will be assigned to Burneys Sweets More, including all intellectual property rights. Franchisees must cooperate in protecting these innovations and establishing Burneys Sweets More's ownership. Franchisees do not have exclusive rights to use these innovations, patents, or confidential information, and their right to use them is limited to the term of the Franchise Agreement. Upon expiration or termination of the agreement, the franchisee loses all rights to use these innovations and confidential information.