Is C12 Group the licensee of any patent right owned by any other party?
C12_Group Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
& www.JoinC12.com domain names. C12 claims copyright of these websites.
C12 owns no patents, is not the applicant with respect to any pending application for the registration of any patents and is not the licensee of any patent right owned by any other party.
C12 claims common law rights and copyright protection for our proprietary materials, training and operating manuals, program materials, and other documents used in the operation of the business. This includes advertising and marketing materials, meeting/facilitation materials, booklets, seminars, presentations, and software specifically developed by C12 for usage and delivery to its members and prospective members.
C12 may license portions of its business and ministry training materials from its historical archives to other like-minded individuals and entities, at C12's discretion.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS, AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 34–35)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 FDD, C12 Group states that it does not own any patents, is not an applicant for any pending patent registrations, and is not the licensee of any patent right owned by another party. However, C12 Group does own several top-level internet domain names, such as ".COM, .NET, .ORG," which are registered with domain name registrars. They also claim copyright of their websites, primarily located under the domain names www.c12forums.com and www.JoinC12.com.
C12 Group also asserts common law rights and copyright protection for its proprietary materials, including training and operating manuals, program materials, and other documents used in the operation of the business. This extends to advertising and marketing materials, meeting/facilitation materials, booklets, seminars, presentations, and software specifically developed by C12 for usage and delivery to its members and prospective members.
As a franchisee, you will not receive the right to use any item covered by a patent or copyright. However, you are permitted to use the proprietary information found in the C12 Training Manual, provided you adhere to the C12 Brand Standards guide. It is important to promptly report any unauthorized use of this proprietary information to C12 Group, although they are not obligated to take any action in response.