Does Pearce Bespoke claim copyright protection for sales promotion materials?
Pearce_Bespoke Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
There are no patents or copyrights currently registered or pending which are material to the Pearce Bespoke franchise offered, although Pearce Bespoke does claim copyright protection for each of its Pearce Bespoke Manuals and for various sales promotion and other materials periodically published or located on its
website. You must keep confidential during and after the term of the franchise agreement all information contained in the Manuals. You cannot duplicate or provide any information contained in the Manuals to any party other than, during the term of the franchise agreement, those of your employees who need to know that information. When the franchise agreement terminates, you must return to Pearce Bespoke all copies of each Manual and all other material Pearce Bespoke has copyrighted or designated as confidential. Pearce Bespoke does not contract with individual franchisees to protect the copyrights, to protect individual franchisees against infringement or unfair competition claims arising out of the franchisee's use of the copyrights, or to participate in the franchisee's defense or indemnify the franchisee. Pearce Bespoke reserves the right to control any copyright litigation and will be the sole judge as to whether any suit will be brought or settled when any person or entity infringes Pearce Bespoke's copyrights.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 29–30)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 FDD, Pearce Bespoke claims copyright protection for its Pearce Bespoke Manuals and various sales promotion materials. This means that Pearce Bespoke asserts legal ownership over these materials, preventing franchisees or others from reproducing or distributing them without permission.
As a Pearce Bespoke franchisee, you are required to keep all information contained in the Pearce Bespoke Manuals confidential during and after the term of the franchise agreement. You are prohibited from duplicating or providing any information from the manuals to anyone except your employees who need to know the information during the franchise term. Upon termination of the franchise agreement, you must return all copies of the manuals and any other copyrighted or confidential material to Pearce Bespoke.
Pearce Bespoke retains control over any copyright litigation and has the sole discretion to decide whether to pursue or settle any suit related to infringement of its copyrights. Pearce Bespoke does not offer individual franchisees protection against infringement or unfair competition claims arising from the franchisee's use of the copyrights, nor does it participate in the franchisee's defense or indemnify them in such cases. This indicates that while franchisees are expected to use the copyrighted materials in their business, they bear the risk of any legal issues arising from their use.