What specific Proprietary Marks is a Churchs Chicken franchisee authorized to use?
Churchs_Chicken Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
form standards of quality and service, and to protect the reputation and goodwill of the Restaurants. You must operate your Restaurant and advertise, at your expense, only under the name "Church's", "Church's Chicken" or "Church's Texas Chicken" without prefix or suffix. You must adopt and use the Proprietary Marks only in the way we permit you to do. You must observe all reasonable requirements concerning trademark registration notices that we periodically specify in the Manual or otherwise in writing.
ITEM 14 PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION
As described in Item 1, in connection with the financing transaction, in February 2011, Cajun Operating contributed its 100% ownership interest in Cajun Funding, the holder of the intellectual property assets, to us.
Source: Item 13 — TRADEMARKS (FDD pages 45–47)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Churchs Chicken Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are authorized to operate their restaurants under specific Proprietary Marks. These marks include "Church's", "Church's Chicken" or "Church's Texas Chicken" without any additional prefixes or suffixes. Franchisees must adhere to the specific ways Churchs Chicken permits them to use these marks and must also comply with any trademark registration notices provided in the manuals or in writing. The right to use these marks is limited to the operation of the restaurant at the location specified in the Franchise Agreement and includes only the Proprietary Marks designated in the manuals or in writing as part of the Churchs Chicken system.
Churchs Chicken owns the federally registered marks "Church's Chicken" and "Church's Texas Chicken". These marks are registered for restaurant services, fried chicken, and related products. The authorization to use these Proprietary Marks does not grant the franchisee any ownership or rights to the marks themselves; all benefits from their use inure to Churchs Chicken. Franchisees are prohibited from using the Proprietary Marks in any way that suggests they own the marks, except as explicitly allowed in the Franchise Agreement.
Churchs Chicken retains significant control over the Proprietary Marks, including the right to grant additional licenses to others, develop other franchise systems with different marks, and establish other systems for selling similar products using the same or similar marks, without providing the franchisee any rights to those marks. Franchisees must promptly inform Churchs Chicken of any suspected infringement or challenges to the Proprietary Marks, and Churchs Chicken will control any related legal proceedings. If Churchs Chicken modifies or discontinues a trademark due to litigation or other reasons, franchisees must immediately switch to the new marks upon notification.