What are franchisees required to do when using the Camp Margaritaville Licensed Marks?
Camp_Margaritaville Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You must follow our rules when using the Licensed Marks. If we discover your unauthorized use of the Licensed Marks, we may require you to destroy (with no reimbursement from us) all offending items reflecting that unauthorized use. 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.
If it becomes advisable at any time for us and/or you to modify, discontinue using, and/or replace any Licensed Mark and/or to use one or more additional, substitute, or replacement trade or service marks together with or instead of any previously-designated Licensed Mark, you must comply with our directions
within a reasonable time after receiving notice. Neither we nor our affiliates will reimburse you for any costs or expenses you incur relating to these directions, including your expenses of changing the Resort's signs, any loss of revenue due to any modified or discontinued Licensed Mark, or your expenses of promoting a modified or substitute trademark or service mark. Our rights in this paragraph apply to any of the Licensed Marks (and any portion of any Licensed Mark) that we authorize you to use. We may exercise these rights at any time and for any reason, business or otherwise, we think best. You acknowledge both our right to take this action and your obligation to comply with our directions.
We will reimburse you for all damages and expenses that you incur in any trademark infringement proceeding disputing your authorized use of any Licensed Mark if you have timely notified us of, and comply with our directions in responding to, the proceeding. We will defend you in the proceeding and, at our option, we and/or our affiliate(s) may defend and control the defense of any proceeding arising from your use of any Licensed Mark.
The Franchise Agreement gives you no right of ownership in the Licensed Marks and you may not directly or indirectly, register or cause to be registered any Licensed Mark in any country or with any governmental authority. Further, without our prior approval you may not use any trademark, trade name, service mark, metatag, domain name, keyword, or social media indicator, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok or X (f/k/a Twitter) handle, consisting of, related to, similar to and/or confusingly similar to any of the Licensed Marks. During and after the term of the Franchise Agreement, you may not assist any person to: (i) challenge the validity of our ownership of, or right to license, the Licensed Marks or any registration or application for registration of the Licensed Marks; (ii) contest the fact that your rights under the Franchise Agreement are solely those of a licensee and terminate upon termination or expiration of the Franchise Agreement; or (iii) represent in any manner that you have any title or right to the ownership, registration or use of the Licensed Marks in any manner except as set forth in the Franchise Agreement. You may use the Licensed Marks only as permitted by the Franchise Agreement. You may not use or exploit the Licensed Marks outside of your Resort, except to engage in promotion, advertising, or marketing of your Resort in compliance with the Manual. You may not assign, sublicense, or franchise any of the Licensed Marks to any other persons. We and our affiliates retain the sole right to apply for registration or renewal of any trademarks, trade names, service marks, metatags, domain names, keywords, or social media indicator, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok or X (f/k/a Twitter) handle related to the Licensed Marks.
Source: Item 13 — TRADEMARKS (FDD pages 57–59)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Camp Margaritaville's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must adhere to specific rules and guidelines when using the brand's licensed marks. Camp Margaritaville franchisees do not have any ownership rights to the licensed marks and cannot register or attempt to register any licensed mark in any country or with any governmental authority. Without prior approval from Camp Margaritaville, franchisees are prohibited from using any trademark, trade name, service mark, metatag, domain name, keyword, or social media indicator that is related or similar to the licensed marks. Franchisees are only allowed to use the licensed marks as permitted by the Franchise Agreement and cannot exploit them outside of their Resort, except for promotion, advertising, or marketing purposes in compliance with the Manual.
Furthermore, Camp Margaritaville requires franchisees to notify them immediately of any apparent infringement or challenge to the use of any Licensed Mark or any claim of rights in any Licensed Mark. Franchisees are instructed not to communicate with any party other than Camp Margaritaville, its affiliates, their attorneys, and their own attorneys regarding any infringement, challenge, or claim. Camp Margaritaville and its affiliates have the exclusive right to control any litigation, PTO proceeding, or other proceeding arising from any infringement, challenge, or claim concerning any Licensed Mark. Franchisees must also sign any documents and take any reasonable actions necessary to protect and maintain Camp Margaritaville's interests in the Licensed Marks, for which they will be reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket costs.
Camp Margaritaville also retains the right to modify, discontinue, or replace any Licensed Mark at any time, and franchisees must comply with these directions. While Camp Margaritaville will not reimburse franchisees for any costs or losses incurred due to these changes, they will reimburse franchisees for damages and expenses in trademark infringement proceedings if the franchisee has provided timely notification and complied with Camp Margaritaville's directions. This ensures that Camp Margaritaville maintains control over its brand identity and protects its trademarks, while also providing some level of support and reimbursement to franchisees in the event of infringement disputes.
These stipulations are typical in franchising, as franchisors need to protect their brand identity and ensure consistent use of their trademarks across all franchise locations. The restrictions on registering or using similar marks prevent potential confusion among consumers and protect the franchisor's brand equity. The requirement to report infringements and cooperate in legal proceedings is also standard, as it allows the franchisor to take swift action against unauthorized use of their trademarks. The potential for the franchisor to modify or discontinue marks is a risk that franchisees must be aware of, as it could require them to update signage and marketing materials at their own expense, although Camp Margaritaville does offer reimbursement for certain infringement-related expenses.