Does Gold Star assert copyright protection for its Manual and other information?
Gold_Star Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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Item 14
Patents, Copyrights and Proprietary Information
Gold Star does not own any patents.
Gold Star asserts copyright protection for its Manual and other information and materials regarding Gold Star's System, which are not registered. You are not necessarily licensed to use these copyrights, but you are licensed to use the Manual and certain confidential information and materials during the term of the Franchise Agreement as part of the Confidential Material described in this Item 14.
There are no current determinations of the United States Copyright Office (Library of Congress) or any court regarding the copyrights, and there are no currently effective agreements that significantly limit the rights of Gold Star to use or license the use of the items for which copyright protection is asserted in any manner material to the Franchise.
Gold Star asserts trade secret protection for information contained in the Manual and other information about its chili products, recipes and formulations, the System and the Business (the "Confidential Material"), and pursuant to the Franchise Agreement you agree that the Confidential Material constitutes proprietary highly confidential trade secrets and that you will not use any of the Confidential Material except as necessary in the operation of the Franchise business in accordance with the Franchise Agreement. You also agree that you will not disclose, duplicate, license, sell or reveal any of the Confidential Material to any person, other than disclosure to one or more of your employees to the extent that the employee is required by his/her work in accordance with the Franchise Agreement to be familiar with relevant Confidential Material. You agree to keep confidential the Confidential Material, to obtain from each of your partners, shareholders, officers, directors, employees and agents an agreement to keep and respect these confidences and to be responsible for compliance by all of those persons with those agreements.
You must advise Gold Star promptly in writing if you learn of any claims made regarding, or unauthorized use of, any Confidential Material, whether by a Related Party or a third party. Gold Star is not obligated to take any action, but may take any action it deems appropriate. Gold Star is not obligated to indemnify you for expenses or damages in a proceeding involving any of the Confidential Information.
Source: Item 14 — Patents, Copyrights, and Proprietary Information (FDD pages 40–41)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Gold Star's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Gold Star asserts copyright protection for its Manual and other information and materials regarding Gold Star's System. These copyrights are not registered. As a franchisee, you are licensed to use the Manual and certain confidential information during the term of the Franchise Agreement.
Gold Star also asserts trade secret protection for information contained in the Manual and other information about its chili products, recipes and formulations, the System and the Business. The Franchise Agreement stipulates that this information constitutes proprietary and highly confidential trade secrets. Franchisees must only use this information as necessary for operating the franchise and must not disclose, duplicate, license, sell, or reveal it to any person, except to employees who need to know it for their work.
Furthermore, franchisees must advise Gold Star promptly in writing if they learn of any claims made regarding, or unauthorized use of, any Confidential Material. Gold Star is not obligated to take any action but may take any action it deems appropriate. Gold Star is not obligated to indemnify franchisees for expenses or damages in a proceeding involving any of the Confidential Information.
Under the Franchise Agreement, franchisees agree not to contest the validity or enforceability of Gold Star's copyrights, Confidential Material, or the System. If Gold Star requires franchisees to modify or discontinue the use of any item included in the Manual or other Confidential Information, franchisees must do so at their own expense.