Does any agreement significantly limit the right of Hck Hot Chicken to use or license the Marks?
Hck_Hot_Chicken Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
There is no agreement which significantly limits our right to use or license the Marks in any manner material to the HCK Hot Chicken Restaurant. We do not know of any superior prior rights or infringing uses that could materially affect your use of the trademarks.
The following statement applies to the third mark in the table above: We do not have a federal registration for our principal trademark. Therefore, our trademark does not have many legal benefits and rights as a federally registered trademark. If our right to use the trademark is challenged, you may have to change to an alternative trademark, which may increase your expenses.
Office Action on Mark #3: On April 3, 2025, the USPTO issued a Final Office Action on our pending application for Mark #3 in the table above in which the USPTO questioned our right to register the Mark based upon not submitting a specimen showing the use of the proposed mark in commerce on or in connection with the goods. On April 14, 2025, we filed a Request to Divide the application into two applications. If we are not able to overcome the Office Action, then we will not be able to obtain a federal trademark registration for the first mark in the table above.
Source: Item 13 — TRADEMARKS (FDD pages 40–41)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Hck Hot Chicken's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, there is no agreement that significantly limits their right to use or license the Marks in any manner material to the Hck Hot Chicken Restaurant. Hck Hot Chicken also states that they are not aware of any superior prior rights or infringing uses that could materially affect a franchisee's use of the trademarks.
However, the FDD also indicates that Hck Hot Chicken does not have a federal registration for their principal trademark. This means the trademark lacks many legal benefits and rights that a federally registered trademark would possess. If the right to use the trademark is challenged, franchisees may have to switch to an alternative trademark, potentially increasing their expenses.
Furthermore, the USPTO issued a Final Office Action on April 3, 2025, questioning Hck Hot Chicken's right to register Mark #3 due to the lack of a specimen showing the mark's use in commerce. While Hck Hot Chicken filed a Request to Divide the application on April 14, 2025, failure to overcome the Office Action would prevent them from obtaining a federal trademark registration for that mark. This could create additional risk for franchisees if the trademark is disputed.