What actions must a Checkers franchisee take to evidence Checkers' ownership of materials created by the franchisee?
Checkers Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
All recipes, processes, ideas, concepts, advertising and promotional materials, website pages and content, methods, techniques or materials used or useful to a fast-food restaurant business, whether or not constituting protectable intellectual property (collectively, the "Materials"), that you create, or that are created on your behalf, in connection with the development or operation of your Franchised Restaurant must be promptly disclosed to us. If we adopt any of such Materials as part of the System, or deem them to be sufficiently related to us and our business to be considered proprietary, they will be deemed to be our sole and exclusive property and deemed to be Works-made-for-Hire (as such term is defined under Section 101 of the U.S. Federal Copyright Act) for us, and to the extent the Materials may for any reason not be considered a Work-made-for-Hire, you irrevocably convey, grant, transfer and assign to us all right, title and interest which you may have now or in the future in and to the Materials. You must sign whatever assignment or other documents we request, during and after the term of the Franchise Agreement, to evidence our ownership or to assist us in securing intellectual property rights in the Materials, and you warrant that you will obtain all rights from any third party acting on your behalf to comply with this requirement.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS, AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 63–64)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Checkers's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee creates materials such as recipes, advertising, or website content for their restaurant, they must promptly disclose these to Checkers. If Checkers decides to use these materials as part of their system or considers them proprietary, the franchisee agrees that these materials become Checkers' sole property as "Works-made-for-Hire."
To ensure Checkers' ownership, the franchisee must sign any assignment or documents that Checkers requests, both during and after the franchise agreement. This action helps Checkers secure intellectual property rights to the materials. The franchisee also warrants that they will obtain all necessary rights from any third party acting on their behalf to comply with this requirement.
This means that while franchisees may develop creative content for their Checkers restaurant, Checkers retains the right to incorporate those ideas into the broader franchise system. The franchisee essentially assigns all rights to Checkers and must assist in legally documenting that transfer of ownership. This is a fairly standard practice in franchising, as it allows the franchisor to maintain brand consistency and leverage successful ideas across the entire network.