Does Craters & Freighters claim common law and federal copyrights in its website?
Craters_Freighters Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The information contained in the Operations Manuals is proprietary and is protected by copyright and other laws. The Operations Manuals and the limitations of the use of it by you and your employees are described in Item 11 and the Franchise Agreement. The designs contained in the Marks, the layout of our advertising materials, as well as any other writings, recordings in print or electronic form are also protected by copyright and other laws. Although we have not filed an application for copyright registration for the Operations Manuals, the trademarks, our website, our computer software programs, the advertising materials, or any other writings and recordings, we claim common law and federal copyrights in these items. We grant you the right to use this proprietary and copyrighted information ("Copyrighted Works") in connection with your operation of your Franchised Business, but these copyrights remain our sole property.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 34–35)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Craters & Freighters Franchise Disclosure Document, Craters & Freighters claims common law and federal copyrights in its website, even though they have not filed for copyright registration. This means that Craters & Freighters asserts legal ownership and protection over the content and design of its website under both common law and federal copyright laws.
For a prospective franchisee, this is important because the franchise agreement grants you the right to use this copyrighted information in connection with operating your Craters & Freighters franchise. However, these copyrights remain the sole property of Craters & Freighters. You must also notify Craters & Freighters within three days if you become aware of any unauthorized use of their copyrighted works or if someone challenges your use of them.
Craters & Freighters retains the right to take any action they deem appropriate to protect their copyrighted works, and you are obligated to assist them in doing so. You are prohibited from contesting Craters & Freighters' rights to their copyrighted works and must not communicate with anyone other than Craters & Freighters and their counsel regarding any infringement or challenge. This ensures that Craters & Freighters maintains control over its intellectual property and brand identity, while franchisees are given a defined scope of usage rights.