If a franchisee of Crave develops a new process related to the Franchised Business, what is the franchisee obligated 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 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 47–48)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Crave's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee or any of their principals 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.
Furthermore, the franchisee must provide Crave with all related information, processes, products, or other improvements. They are also obligated to 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 their principals 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 means that while a franchisee might innovate and create something new within their Crave business, the ownership and rights to that innovation automatically transfer to Crave, who can then share it with the entire franchise system without further obligation to the innovating franchisee.