Who is responsible for paying the fees associated with registering a domain name for a Chatime operation?
Chatime Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
es to the benefit of Franchisor; and
- (3) When this Agreement ends, Franchisee is not entitled to any payment from Franchisor for goodwill which may exist in relation to The Franchised Business.
- 11.6 Franchisee and Guarantor Must Not Register Similar Intellectual Property
Franchisee and Guarantor must:
- (1) If it is the owner of any intellectual property (e.g., business or corporate names, trademarks, domain names) similar or identical to the Intellectual Property in the Territory, immediately upon execution of this Agreement, take all steps necessary to transfer ownership of that intellectual property to Franchisor at Franchisee's cost;
- (2) If, during the Initial Term, either Franchisee or any Guarantor registers any intellectual property (e.g., business or corporate names, trademarks, domain names) similar or identical to the Intellectual Property in the Territory, the relevant party must immediately upon such registration, take all steps necessary to transfer ownership of that intellectual property to Franchisor at Franchisee's cost; and
- (3) Not, except as otherwise agreed or directed by Franchisor in writing, register any intellectual property (e.g., business or corporate names, trademarks, domain names) similar or identical to the Intellectual Property or that contains or consists of any Intellectual Property or anything that is substantially identical or deceptively similar thereto or otherwise relates to the Chatime brand or the System. In particular, if Franchisee or Guarantor is a corporation, each must not use the word "Chatime" or any other similar word or derivatives of that word in its corporate name, with acknowledgement that the factors determining similarity of trademarks as stated above include, without limitation, the appearances, concepts, pronunciations, designated classes and designated goods and services of trademarks.
11.7 Franchisee's Improvements
- (1) If any Franchisee's Improvements are developed by or on behalf of Franchisee during the Initial Term from which Franchisee obtains any intellectual property rights, Franchisee assigns all of Franchisee's rights to and intellectual property in Franchisee's Improvements to Franchisor or its nominee as and when the intellectual property rights are created, free of all encumbrances.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 58–262)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Chatime's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees or developers are responsible for covering the costs associated with transferring or registering intellectual property, such as domain names, to the franchisor under certain circumstances. Specifically, if a franchisee or guarantor already owns intellectual property like domain names that are similar or identical to Chatime's intellectual property in the designated territory, they must take the necessary steps to transfer ownership to Chatime. This transfer must occur immediately upon the execution of the franchise agreement and at the franchisee's own expense.
Similarly, if during the initial term of the agreement, a franchisee or any guarantor registers intellectual property, including domain names, that are similar or identical to Chatime's intellectual property, they are obligated to transfer ownership to Chatime. This transfer must happen immediately after the registration and again, at the franchisee's cost. Furthermore, franchisees and guarantors are prohibited from registering any intellectual property that is similar or identical to Chatime's intellectual property unless they have received prior written consent or direction from Chatime.
For prospective Chatime franchisees, this means that if you own a domain name similar to "Chatime" when signing the agreement, or if you register one during the agreement term, you will have to transfer it to Chatime at your own expense. This could involve legal and administrative costs, as well as the potential loss of a domain name you might have been using for other purposes. It is important to conduct a thorough check of existing domain names and trademarks before entering into a franchise agreement with Chatime to avoid unexpected costs and obligations.