After termination, abandonment, or expiration of the Remax agreement under a Restrictive Event, under what conditions can Remax Regional restrict the use of Non-RE/MAX Trade Name Terms?
Remax Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
In addition, if you did not use the Non-RE/MAX Trade Name Terms with a non-RE/MAX real estate office for at least 3 years prior to Franchisee's first date of affiliation with the RE/MAX System, then you further agree that upon a termination, Abandonment, or expiration of this Agreement that is subject to the provisions of Subsection 14.J. below (a "Restrictive Event"), REMAX Regional reserves the right to require that neither you nor your Owners, officers, or guarantors, nor any of your or their spouses or domestic partners will, for a period of 1 year from the date of the Restrictive Event, use the Non-RE/MAX Trade Name Terms (alone or with additional terms added) as a trade name, trademark, service mark, domain name, social media screen name or user name, or email address;
Source: Item 22 — Contracts (FDD pages 108–334)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Remax's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Remax Regional has the right to restrict the use of Non-RE/MAX Trade Name Terms after the termination, abandonment, or expiration of the franchise agreement under a Restrictive Event. This restriction applies if the franchisee did not use the Non-RE/MAX Trade Name Terms with a non-RE/MAX real estate office for at least 3 years before joining the Remax system.
If these conditions are met, Remax Regional can prevent the franchisee, their owners, officers, guarantors, and their spouses or domestic partners from using the Non-RE/MAX Trade Name Terms for one year from the date of the Restrictive Event. This includes using the terms alone or with additional terms in any trade name, trademark, service mark, domain name, social media screen name or user name, or email address.
This clause is designed to protect Remax's brand and market position by preventing former franchisees from leveraging any goodwill associated with names similar to the Remax brand shortly after leaving the system. For a prospective franchisee, this means that if their chosen Non-RE/MAX Trade Name Terms are relatively new to their business (less than 3 years of use prior to joining Remax), they could be restricted from using those terms for a year after leaving the Remax franchise, potentially impacting their ability to continue business under that name.