Who owns the rights to improvements or additions to the My Salon Suite system?
My_Salon_Suite Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Any improvements or additions to the System, patents, copyrighted materials, the Domain Name, website, or any other documents or information
pertaining to or relating to the System or the Franchised Business, or any new trade names, trade and service marks, logos, or commercial symbols related to the Franchised Business or any advertising and promotional ideas or inventions related to the Franchised Businesses (collectively, "Improvements") conceived or developed by Franchisee shall become Franchisor's property.
Franchisee agrees to assign and does hereby assign to Franchisor, all right, title and interest in and to the Improvements, including the right to grant sublicenses to any such Improvement.
Franchisee shall fully disclose the Improvements to Franchisor, without disclosure of the Improvements to others, and shall obtain Franchisor's written approval prior to using such Improvements.
Any Improvement may be used by Franchisor and all other franchisees without any obligation to Franchisee for royalties or other fees.
Franchisor may apply for and own copyrights, patents, trade names, trademarks and service marks relating to any such Improvement and Franchisee shall cooperate with Franchisor in securing such rights.
Franchisor may also consider such Improvements as the property and trade secrets of Franchisor.
In return, Franchisor shall authorize Franchisee to utilize any Improvement that may be developed by other franchisees and is authorized generally for use by other franchisees.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 95–230)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to My Salon Suite's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, any improvements or additions to the My Salon Suite system conceived or developed by a franchisee automatically become the property of the franchisor. This includes, but is not limited to, patents, copyrighted materials, domain names, websites, trade names, trademarks, logos, commercial symbols, advertising ideas, and promotional inventions related to the franchised business.
As a My Salon Suite franchisee, you are required to disclose any such improvements to the franchisor without disclosing them to others first, and you must obtain the franchisor's written approval before using them. The franchisor has the right to use these improvements, as can all other franchisees, without any obligation to pay you royalties or other fees. My Salon Suite also has the right to apply for and own copyrights, patents, trade names, trademarks, and service marks related to any improvement, and you are obligated to cooperate with the franchisor in securing these rights.
In return for assigning all rights to improvements to My Salon Suite, the franchisor will authorize you to use any improvement developed by other franchisees that is generally authorized for use by other franchisees. This clause ensures that while My Salon Suite retains ownership of all system improvements, franchisees may benefit from innovations developed across the franchise network. This is a fairly standard practice in franchising, where the franchisor seeks to maintain uniformity and control over the brand and system while also encouraging innovation.