What is a Dq Treat licensee required to do with domain names containing Trademarks after termination?
Dq_Treat Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- (D) If, despite not being permitted to do so, Licensee owns or controls any domain name registrations in connection with the Restaurant or that include any of the Trademarks, Licensee agrees to promptly transfer ownership of such domain names to Company and execute any documents the domain name registry requires in connection with the transfer of these domain name registrations to Company.
Source: Item 17 — The following paragraph is added to the end of Item 17 of the Disclosure Document: (FDD pages 70–378)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Dq Treat FDD, if a licensee owns or controls any domain names connected to the restaurant or including any of Dq Treat's trademarks, they must promptly transfer ownership of these domain names to the company after termination. The licensee is also required to execute any documents the domain name registry requires to complete the transfer. This ensures that Dq Treat maintains control over its brand and online presence, even after a franchise agreement ends.
This requirement is fairly standard in franchising, as franchisors need to protect their trademarks and brand identity. By requiring the transfer of domain names, Dq Treat prevents former franchisees from using the brand's online presence to operate a competing business or otherwise confuse customers. This protects the integrity of the Dq Treat brand and ensures consistency across all franchise locations.
For a prospective Dq Treat franchisee, this means understanding that any domain names related to the business that they might acquire during the franchise term must be surrendered back to Dq Treat upon termination of the agreement. This is an important consideration when evaluating the costs and benefits of investing in a Dq Treat franchise, as it limits the franchisee's ability to build long-term online assets associated with the brand.