Who owns the Proprietary Marks for Churchs Chicken?

According to Churchs Chicken's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Proprietary Marks are owned by Cajun Funding, a wholly-owned subsidiary. Churchs Chicken, however, has the right to use and license others to use these Proprietary Marks for a term of 99 years through a License Agreement with Cajun Funding. This agreement allows Churchs Chicken to grant franchisees the right to operate under the System and use the Proprietary Marks, provided they adhere to the guidelines specified in the Franchise Agreement, Manuals, or other written instructions.

This arrangement means that while franchisees use the Churchs Chicken trademarks, they do not own them and must follow strict rules regarding their usage. Franchisees can only use the marks at their designated restaurant location and in the manner prescribed by Churchs Chicken. Any unauthorized use could be a violation of the Franchise Agreement and an infringement on Churchs Chicken's trademarks.

Furthermore, Churchs Chicken retains significant control over the Proprietary Marks, including the right to grant additional licenses, develop other franchise systems with different marks, and modify or discontinue marks if necessary due to litigation. Franchisees are obligated to promptly adopt any new marks and must notify Churchs Chicken of any suspected infringement of the Proprietary Marks. This ensures that Churchs Chicken maintains consistent branding and protects its intellectual property across all franchise locations.

For a prospective franchisee, this means that the right to use the Churchs Chicken brand is licensed and not owned. The franchisee's use of the trademarks builds goodwill for Churchs Chicken and its affiliates, not for the franchisee individually. Upon termination or expiration of the Franchise Agreement, no monetary value will be assigned to the franchisee for any goodwill generated through their use of the Proprietary Marks.