What materials does Dog Haus claim copyright protection for?
Dog_Haus Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
We do not own any rights in or to any patents. There are no pending patent or copyright applications that are material to the franchise. We have no registered copyrights, but we claim copyright protection for the Manuals and all marketing material that may be distributed by us. We will loan you one copy of the Manuals for confidential use in the Franchised Restaurant. At our option, we may post some or all of the Manuals on a restricted website, intranet, or extranet to which you will have access. You may not disclose, publish, sell, show, or reproduce the Manuals and you must return the Manuals to us intact upon termination or expiration of your Franchise Agreement or Area Development Agreement.
We regard our recipes, our particular method of producing our sauces, and all the information contained in the Manuals, as proprietary and confidential information owned by us. You agree, as part of your Franchise Agreement, not to contest our exclusive ownership of the copyrights, trade secrets, recipes, processes, methods, procedures, formulae, techniques, and other proprietary information to which we claim exclusive rights. You are not given any rights in other trade secrets or proprietary or confidential information developed by us in the future. You must implement any reasonable procedures we may adopt to protect our trade secrets including restrictions on disclosures to your employees and requiring employees who will have access to our trade secrets to sign agreements containing non-disclosure and non-competition provisions in substantially the form of Exhibit F. None of the provisions in the Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement are intended to prohibit or restrict any activity which prohibition or restriction violates your employees' rights to engage in protected concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 60–61)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Dog Haus's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, while they do not have registered copyrights, they claim copyright protection for their Manuals and all marketing material that may be distributed by them. These Manuals are loaned to the franchisee for confidential use within the Franchised Restaurant and may also be accessible via a restricted website, intranet, or extranet.
As a Dog Haus franchisee, you are prohibited from disclosing, publishing, selling, showing, or reproducing the Manuals. Upon termination or expiration of the Franchise Agreement or Area Development Agreement, the Manuals must be returned intact. This underscores the importance of maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of the operational guidelines provided by Dog Haus.
Dog Haus also considers its recipes, methods of sauce production, and all information within the Manuals as proprietary and confidential. Franchisees must agree not to contest Dog Haus's exclusive ownership of these copyrights, trade secrets, recipes, processes, and other proprietary information. This ensures that the unique aspects of the Dog Haus brand and operations remain protected and under the control of the franchisor.