If a Crave franchisee develops an improvement to the franchised business, what is the franchisee required to do?
Crave Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
10.2.3 New Concepts. If Franchisee or any Principal develops any new concept, process, recipe, product, service, or improvement in the operation or promotion of the Franchised Business ("Improvements"), Franchisee is required to promptly notify Franchisor and provide Franchisor with all related information, processes, products or other improvements, and sign any and all forms, documents and/or papers necessary for Franchisor to obtain full proprietary rights to such Improvements, without compensation and without any claim of ownership or proprietary rights to such Improvements. Franchisee and any Principal acknowledge that any such Improvements will become the property of Franchisor, and Franchisor may use or disclose such information to other franchisees as it determines to be appropriate.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 63–253)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Crave's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee or any principal develops any new concept, process, recipe, product, service, or improvement in the operation or promotion of the franchised business, referred to as "Improvements", the franchisee is required to promptly notify Crave. The franchisee must provide Crave with all related information, processes, products, or other improvements.
Furthermore, the franchisee must sign any and all forms, documents, and/or papers necessary for Crave to obtain full proprietary rights to such Improvements. This transfer of rights occurs without any compensation to the franchisee and without any claim of ownership or proprietary rights to such Improvements.
The franchisee and any principal acknowledge that any such Improvements will become the property of Crave. Crave may then use or disclose such information to other franchisees as it determines to be appropriate. This clause ensures that any advancements or innovations made within the franchise network can be shared and utilized across the entire system, but at the cost of the innovating franchisee relinquishing all rights to their creation.