What are the Goldfish Swim School franchisee's obligations regarding the Confidential Brand Standards Manual?
Goldfish_Swim_School Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ially alter Franchisee's rights and obligations under this Agreement. Franchisor may make such additions or modifications without prior notice to Franchisee. Franchisee shall immediately, upon notice, adopt any such changes and shall ensure that any printed copy of the Confidential Brand Standards Manual retained by Franchisee or Franchisee's employees is up-to-date at all times. If a dispute as to the contents of the Confidential Brand Standards Manual arises, the terms of the electronic copy of the Confidential Brand Standards Manual maintained by Franchisor shall be controlling.
9.3 Confidentiality
The Confidential Brand Standards Manual contains Trade Secrets and other Confidential Information of Franchisor and its contents shall be kept confidential by Franchisee both during the term of the Franchise and subsequent to the expiration and non-renewal or termination of this Agreement. Franchisee shall at all times ensure that any printed copy of the Confidential Brand Standards Manual retained by Franchisee or any of Franchisee's employees is in a current and up-to-date manner. If the Confidential Brand Standards Manual is in paper form or stored on computer-readable media, Franchisee shall maintain the Confidential Brand Standards Manual in a secure manner at the Approved Location; if the Confidential Brand Standards Manual is in electronic form, Franchisee shall maintain the Confidential Brand Standards Manual in a password-protected file. Franchisee shall only grant authorized personnel, as defined in the Confidential Brand Standards Manual, access to the Confidential Brand Standards Manual or any key, combination or passwords needed for access to the Confidential Brand Standards Manual. Franchisee shall not disclose, duplicate or otherwise use any portion of the Confidential Brand Standards Manual in an unauthorized manner.
10. FRANCHISE SYSTEM
10.1 Uniformity
By signing this Agreement, Franchisee indicates that Franchisee understands and acknowledges that every detail of the Franchised Swim School is important – not only to Franchisee, but to Franchisor and to other Goldfish Swim School franchisees – in order to develop and maintain high and uniform operating standards, to increase the demand for the products and services sold by all franchisees, to establish and maintain a reputation for operating uniform, efficient, high quality youth swim educational programs, and to protect the goodwill of
all Goldfish Swim Schools.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 77–389)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 FDD, Goldfish Swim School franchisees have several obligations regarding the Confidential Brand Standards Manual. The manual contains trade secrets and confidential information that must be kept confidential during the franchise term and even after expiration or termination. Franchisees must ensure any printed copy is current and up-to-date. If in paper form or stored on computer-readable media, it must be kept securely at the approved location. If in electronic form, it must be password-protected.
Franchisees can only grant access to authorized personnel as defined in the manual and must not disclose, duplicate, or use any portion of it in an unauthorized manner. Goldfish Swim School has the right to add to, delete from, or otherwise modify or revise the Confidential Brand Standards Manual from time to time. Supplements to the Confidential Brand Standards Manual will become binding upon Franchisee as if originally set forth in the Confidential Brand Standards Manual, upon being delivered to Franchisee. Franchisees must adopt any changes immediately upon notice and ensure all printed copies are up-to-date.
Upon termination or expiration of the franchise agreement, franchisees must immediately return the Confidential Brand Standards Manual, trade secrets, and all other confidential information to Goldfish Swim School. This includes records, files, instructions, brochures, agreements, disclosure statements, and any other materials related to operating the franchised swim school.
These stipulations are typical in franchising, as the brand standards and operating procedures are crucial to maintaining consistency and protecting the brand's reputation. Franchisees should carefully review the definition of "Confidential Information" and "Trade Secrets" in the FDD and the franchise agreement to fully understand their obligations.