Where can I find more detailed information about my obligations as a Coffee News franchisee?
Coffee_News Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
| ITEMS COFFEE NEWS FRANCHISE AGREEMENT | PAGE 1 |
|---|---|
| 1. GRANT OF FRANCHISE 1.1 Grant and Acceptance 1.2 Nonexclusively | 1 1 1 |
| 2. FRANCHISE FEE PAYMENTS 2.1 Fee Payments 2.1.1 Deposit 2.1.2 Coffee News Online 2.1.3 Postponement Fees 2.1.4 Weekly Fees 2.1.5 Additional Franchises 2.1.6 Method of Payment 2.1.7 Adjustment of Weekly Fees | 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 |
| 2.2 Failure to Make Payment 3. TERM AND RENEWAL | 3 3 |
| 3.1 Term 3.2 Renewal | 3 3 |
| 4. SUPPLY OF PERIODICAL 4.1 Form of Periodical 4.2 Frequency of Supply 4.3 Responsibility For Supply 4.4 Printing Services 4.5 Coffee News Online Services 4.6 Third Party Services | 4 4 4 4 4 5 6 |
| 5. CONTENT OF PERIODICAL 5.1 Maintenance of Content 5.2 General Editorial Control | 6 6 6 |
| 6. NAMES, MARKS, TRADE SECRETS, AND COPYRIGHTS | 6 |
| 6.1 Franchise of "Coffee News" Name and Format | 6 |
| 6.2 Use of Trade Secrets | 7 |
| 6.3 Copyrights | 7 |
| 7. OBLIGATIONS OF FRANCHISOR 7.1 Operations Manual 7. |
- 6.2 Use of Trade Secrets. Franchisee shall not directly or indirectly furnish to any other party any confidential information as to the "Coffee News" Format, methods of operation, advertising, promotion, ideas or any other information relating to Franchisor's business of "Coffee News" without the written consent of Franchisor. The provisions contained herein shall survive the termination, expiration, transfer, assignment, of this Agreement. Franchisee shall execute a non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement with its employees, officers, key personnel, agents, or stockholders, as the case may be, that such employees, officers, key personnel, agents, or stockholders, as the case may be, shall be bound by the contractual provisions contained in this paragraph, and will be liable for damages, reasonable attorney fees and court cost if the Franchisor has to enforce their contractual rights by legal actions.
- 6.3. Copyrights. All title, including without limitation copyrights, in and to the Periodical, Operations Manual, Coffee News College training materials, marketing promotion materials, our license agreements, and all content that Licensor and/or its affiliate develop, either in hardcopy or digital format, and any copies thereof are owned by Franchisor and/or its affiliate. All title and intellectual property rights in and to the Periodical content which may be accessed through use of the Periodical and related services is the property of Franchisor and shall be protected by applicable copyright and other intellectual property laws. This Agreement grants no rights to Franchisee's customer to use the content without Franchisor's written consent.
- 8.15 Compliance with Coffee News Social Media Policies.
Franchisee acknowledges and agrees to comply with Coffee News Social Media Policies that Coffee News adopted that may be amended from time to time.
It is acknowledged that the franchisees are responsible for their own content posted or published through the social
media and are responsible for complying with all laws and regulations and third-party site terms and conditions. Coffee News will not have any liability for the Franchisee's use of social-media sites. Additionally, Coffee News does not have responsibility or obligation for monitoring Franchisee's compliance with such laws, regulations, and third-party terms and conditions. Any approval by Coffee News of the use of social media sites or monitoring thereof does not constitute a representation that the franchisees are in compliance with these laws, regulations or terms and conditions. The franchisees are responsible for monitoring their own employees, representatives, agents, etc. to ensure compliance with these requirements set forth in the Policies. A copy of the Coffee News Social Media Policy is attached hereto as Schedule D to this Agreement and all content of the Policy is incorporated as part of the Agreement.
The Franchisees are obligated to comply with all laws and regulations that are applicable to the use of social media. The Franchisees are prohibited from actions including without limitation defaming or disparaging competitors, customers, employees, suppliers, subcontractors, or Coffee News; harassing employees, customers, or any other individuals or entities; using copyrighted materials, trademarks or other proprietary materials in an infringing manner; discriminating against employment applicants, violating privacy laws and policies or otherwise misusing the proprietary information of others; or violating laws or other ethical standards, such as fraud or misrepresentation. All posts by the Franchisees on the site must be truthful and not misleading. The Franchisees are not encouraged to mention their competitors on the site, but if they do, the Franchisees must follow the guidelines contained in this Policy.
The Franchisees may not use or post the confidential and/or proprietary information of Coffee News pursuant to the Coffee News Franchise Agreement, or breach any other restrictions on confidentiality or disclosure. Additionally, the Franchisees may not comment on legal matters, or private matters internal to the Coffee News franchise system. Further, the Franchisees need to carefully review the content of the site before publishing or posting and may not disclose proprietary information of their clients, customers or suppliers, or use the names of clients, customers or suppliers without permission.
The Franchisees shall comply with all rules and regulations concerning the endorsement of products pursuant to the 2012 FTC Endorsement Guidelines, as it may be amended from time to time. If the Franchisee is in any way compensated
relating to promote and post about a product, then any post by the Franchisee on that topic must disclose such relationship.
In consistent with the Coffee News Franchise Agreement, any goodwill generated from Coffee News Franchisees' social media account belongs to Coffee News. Coffee News reserves the right of ownership to its Franchisees' social-media accounts, the content therein, and the domain names associated with these accounts.
7.1 Operations Manual. Franchisor shall provide to Franchisee an operations manual describing how to arrange the distribution of the Periodical within the region covered by this Agreement, how to sell advertising, how advertising in the Periodical operates and how to design such advertisements, how to determine the suggested pricing of advertising, and how to determine coverage areas. This manual also will include sample Filler ad Advertisements, office supply samples such as sample insertion orders, sample business cards, envelopes and monthly sales envelopes for use by Franchisee in producing its own supplies of such materials (The "Operations Manual").
Source: Item 9 — Franchisee's Obligations (FDD pages 15–16)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Coffee News Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 23 and other sections of the Coffee News Franchise Agreement outline a franchisee's obligations. Specifically, the agreement details compliance with laws, regulations, and third-party terms, especially concerning social media usage. Franchisees must adhere to guidelines that prohibit defamation, harassment, copyright infringement, discrimination, and misuse of proprietary information. All online posts must be truthful and not misleading, and franchisees must follow specific guidelines if they mention competitors. Franchisees are also required to comply with the 2012 FTC Endorsement Guidelines regarding product endorsements, disclosing any compensation received for promoting a product.
Further obligations include maintaining the confidentiality of Coffee News' trade secrets, methods of operation, advertising, and promotional ideas. Franchisees must also ensure their employees sign non-disclosure agreements. Coffee News retains ownership of goodwill generated from franchisees' social media accounts, including the content and domain names associated with these accounts. Franchisees must also comply with Coffee News' Social Media Policies, which may be amended, and are responsible for their own content and ensuring compliance with all relevant laws and third-party terms. A copy of the Coffee News Social Media Policy is attached as Schedule D to the Franchise Agreement.
Additionally, the operations manual provided by Coffee News details how to arrange periodical distribution, sell advertising, design advertisements, determine advertising pricing, and define coverage areas. The manual includes sample advertisements and office supply samples. Franchisees also agree not to pledge or encumber the Franchise Agreement without express written approval from Coffee News. The table of contents for the Coffee News Franchise Agreement outlines where specific obligations are detailed within the agreement, such as franchise grants, fee payments, term and renewal, periodical supply, content, names, marks, trade secrets, copyrights, and franchisor obligations.