In the event of trademark litigation related to Healthsource Chiropractic, who has the right to control the litigation?
Healthsource_Chiropractic Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You must immediately notify us of any apparent use of, or claims of rights to a trademark identical to or confusingly similar to the Marks. You may not communicate with any person other than us and our counsel about the apparent infringement, challenge, or claim. We and our affiliates
will have sole discretion to take any affirmative action as we deem appropriate in, and the exclusive right to control any litigation or PTO or other proceeding arising out of any apparent infringement, challenge, or claim, or otherwise relating to any Mark. You must sign any instruments and documents, render any assistance, and perform any acts that our or our affiliates' counsel deems necessary or advisable to protect and maintain our or our affiliates' interests in any litigation or PTO or other proceeding related to any Mark, or otherwise protect and maintain our interests in the Marks.
If we decide that it is advisable for us and/or you to modify or discontinue use of any Mark and/or use one or more additional or substitute trade or service marks, then you must comply with our instructions to do so within a reasonable time after receiving notice from us at your own expense and we need not reimburse you for any loss of revenue due to any modified or discontinued Mark.
We will indemnify you against, and reimburse you for, (1) all damages for which you are held liable in any judicial or administrative proceeding arising out of your use of any Mark in compliance with your Franchise Agreement; and (2) all costs you reasonably incur in defending against any claim brought against you or in any proceeding in which you are named as a party, provided that you have timely notified us of the claim or proceeding, provided us with the opportunity to defend the claim, cooperated with the defense of the claim, and otherwise complied with the Franchise Agreement. We may defend any proceeding arising out of your use of any Mark under your Franchise Agreement, and have no obligation to indemnify or reimburse you for any attorneys' fees or disbursements you incur if we defend the proceeding.
Source: Item 13 — Trademarks (FDD pages 47–50)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Healthsource Chiropractic's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Healthsource Chiropractic and its affiliates retain the exclusive right to control any litigation arising from apparent infringement, challenges, or claims related to any mark. As a franchisee, you must immediately inform Healthsource Chiropractic of any potential trademark issues and are prohibited from communicating with anyone other than Healthsource Chiropractic and its counsel regarding the matter.
This means that while you are required to report any potential trademark infringements or claims, you do not have the authority to independently address these issues. Healthsource Chiropractic maintains complete control over the legal strategy and decisions related to protecting its trademarks.
Furthermore, as a Healthsource Chiropractic franchisee, you are obligated to sign documents, provide assistance, and perform any actions deemed necessary by Healthsource Chiropractic or its affiliates' counsel to protect their interests in any litigation or proceedings related to the marks. This could involve providing information, appearing as a witness, or other forms of cooperation as directed by Healthsource Chiropractic. This obligation ensures that Healthsource Chiropractic can effectively defend and maintain its trademark rights, while the franchisee is expected to support these efforts.
Healthsource Chiropractic will indemnify and reimburse franchisees for damages they are held liable for in proceedings arising from the use of any mark in compliance with the Franchise Agreement, as well as costs reasonably incurred in defending against claims, provided the franchisee has notified Healthsource Chiropractic in a timely manner, allowed them the opportunity to defend the claim and cooperated with the defense. However, Healthsource Chiropractic is not obligated to indemnify or reimburse attorney's fees if they defend the proceeding.