According to the Hardees franchise agreement, what constitutes "Licensed Content"?
Hardees Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- B. Licensor is a party to a certain educational, training and testing services Contract made and entered into with Cornerstone On Demand ("Vendor") as of May 12, 2021, pursuant to which Vendor provides certain educational, training and testing services to facilitate the acquisition and evaluation of workplace skills, including without limitation, online courses and interactive multimedia training and creating and administering learning content. (collectively, the "Licensed Program"), for use by Licensor and its subsidiaries and their franchisees.
- C. Licensor and/or its subsidiaries own or have the right to use and license to others certain proprietary content that from time to time is contained on the Licensed Program (collectively, the "Content").
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 85–541)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Hardees Franchise Disclosure Document, Licensed Content refers to proprietary content that Hardees and/or its subsidiaries own or have the right to use and license to others, which is contained on the Licensed Program from time to time. The Licensed Program is defined as certain educational, training, and testing services provided by Cornerstone On Demand, which facilitate the acquisition and evaluation of workplace skills, including online courses, interactive multimedia training, and the creation and administration of learning content.
Hardees grants its franchisees a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use online websites and web-based applications to access the Licensed Program and Content. This license is solely for the franchisee's internal operations at each franchised restaurant where the franchisee remains in good standing with Hardees. Hardees retains the right to add, modify, or remove features and elements of the Licensed Program and Content without notice or consent from the franchisee. All data and reports generated by the franchisee's use of the Licensed Program and Content are owned solely by Hardees.
This agreement specifies that franchisees must use the Licensed Program and Content strictly for the purposes Hardees expressly permits in writing and in compliance with the standards issued in writing by Hardees. Franchisees must follow any written instructions provided by Hardees when accessing the Licensed Program and Content. The agreement also emphasizes that the copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, and all other intellectual property rights in the Licensed Program and Content remain the property of Hardees, the vendor, or other third parties, and no rights are transferred to the franchisee.
Franchisees are prohibited from altering or deleting any intellectual property notices or proprietary legends or marks specified on the Licensed Program and Content. This ensures that Hardees retains control over its proprietary information and that franchisees adhere to the prescribed usage and standards for the Licensed Program and Content.