Can the arbitrators declare any Focalpoint Coaching Mark generic or otherwise invalid?
Focalpoint_Coaching Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The arbitrators have the right to award or include in their award any relief which they deems proper, including, without limitation, money damages (with interest on unpaid amounts from the date due), specific performance, injunctive relief, and attorneys' fees and costs, provided that the arbitrator(s) may not declare any Mark generic or otherwise invalid or, except as expressly provided in Subsection 17.H below, award any punitive or exemplary damages against either party (Franchisor and Franchisee hereby waiving to the fullest extent permitted by law, except as expressly provided in Subsection 17.H below, any right to or claim for any punitive or exemplary damages against the other). All aspects of the arbitration, including statements made and documents produced within the arbitration, will be confidential in nature and will not be admissible in any subsequent legal proceeding.
Source: Item 22 — Contracts (FDD pages 56–57)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Focalpoint Coaching's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the arbitrators in any dispute resolution are explicitly restricted from declaring any of Focalpoint Coaching's marks as generic or invalid. This protects Focalpoint Coaching's brand identity and trademarks.
This provision ensures that a franchisee cannot challenge the validity or ownership of the Focalpoint Coaching marks through arbitration. This is a significant protection for the franchisor, as it prevents franchisees from undermining the brand's trademarks during a dispute. The franchisee acknowledges that the use of Focalpoint Coaching's marks and any goodwill established by that use are exclusively for the benefit of Focalpoint International and Focalpoint Coaching.
This clause is fairly standard in franchise agreements, as franchisors need to protect their trademarks. Prospective Focalpoint Coaching franchisees should understand that they cannot contest the validity of the brand's trademarks, even in an arbitration setting. This limitation reinforces the importance of the brand's trademarks to the entire franchise system.