Are there any pending patent applications that are material to the City Wide franchise?

According to City Wide's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, there are no pending patent applications that are material to the franchise. However, City Wide does claim common law rights and copyright protection for its signage, promotional materials, operating manual, training materials, agreements, bid sheet, bid system, and any other documents and materials used in connection with the operation of the City Wide system and franchised businesses.

Prospective franchisees should note that they are prohibited from duplicating the City Wide system and disclosing any part of it or the operating manual. The FDD emphasizes that a franchisee's knowledge of operating the franchised business comes directly from City Wide, and certain information is proprietary, confidential, and considered a trade secret. This includes business records, know-how, methods, specifications, processes, procedures, and improvements not generally known to City Wide's competitors.

Franchisees must maintain the absolute confidentiality of all trade secret information during and after the franchise term and cannot use this information in any other business without written authorization from City Wide. This obligation has some exceptions, such as information previously known by the franchisee, information disclosed by a third party not under a duty of confidentiality, or information generally known in the trade. However, these exceptions apply only if City Wide is notified within 30 days of disclosing the confidential information.