What must a Camp Margaritaville franchisee do if they discover unauthorized use of the Licensed Marks?
Camp_Margaritaville Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You must notify us immediately of any apparent infringement or challenge to your use of any Licensed Mark, or of any person's claim of any rights in any Licensed Mark, and not communicate with any person other than us, our affiliates, and our and their attorneys, and your attorneys, regarding any infringement, challenge, or claim. We and our affiliates may take the action we and they deem appropriate (including no action) and control exclusively any litigation, PTO proceeding, or other proceeding arising from any infringement, challenge, or claim or otherwise concerning any Licensed Mark. You must sign any documents and take any other reasonable actions that, in the opinion of our and our affiliates' attorneys, are necessary or advisable to protect and maintain our and our affiliates' interests in any litigation or PTO or other proceeding or otherwise to protect and maintain our and our affiliates' interests in the Licensed Marks. We will reimburse your reasonable out-of-pocket costs for taking any requested action.
Source: Item 13 — TRADEMARKS (FDD pages 57–59)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Camp Margaritaville's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees have specific obligations upon discovering potential trademark infringements. If a franchisee becomes aware of any apparent infringement or challenge to the use of any Licensed Mark, or any claim of rights to a Licensed Mark by another party, they must immediately notify Camp Margaritaville. The franchisee is explicitly instructed not to communicate with any party other than Camp Margaritaville, its affiliates, their attorneys, and the franchisee's own attorneys regarding the infringement, challenge, or claim. This ensures that Camp Margaritaville maintains control over the response and legal strategy.
Camp Margaritaville and its affiliates reserve the right to take any action they deem appropriate, including taking no action at all. They have exclusive control over any litigation, PTO (Patent and Trademark Office) proceeding, or other legal action arising from the infringement, challenge, or claim. The franchisee is obligated to sign any documents and take any other reasonable actions deemed necessary by Camp Margaritaville's attorneys to protect the interests in the Licensed Marks. Camp Margaritaville will reimburse the franchisee's reasonable out-of-pocket costs for taking any requested action.
This approach is typical in franchising, as franchisors need to protect their trademarks consistently across all franchise locations. By centralizing the response to potential infringements, Camp Margaritaville can ensure a unified and effective legal strategy, which benefits the entire franchise system. The franchisee's role is primarily to report the issue and cooperate with Camp Margaritaville's legal team, rather than independently addressing the infringement.