After termination of the Remax agreement, can a contractor identify themselves as having been affiliated with Remax?
Remax Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
g, listing and sales materials provided hereunder by, and the information gained from, the files or business of Broker or Franchisor/Regional, irrespective of the origin or ultimate source (collectively, the "Proprietary Materials"), are and shall remain the exclusive property of their source, be it Broker, Franchisor or Regional. Upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, without Renewal, Contractor shall promptly return to Broker the original and all copies of the Proprietary Materials in Contractor's possession and shall not, after such termination or expiration use, copy, or reproduce any aspect of the Proprietary Materials for any reason, or permit, suffer or tolerate the use of the Proprietary Materials for Contractor's own advantage or the advantage of others.
- B. RE/MAX Marks and Related Identifiers. Following termination or expiration of this Agreement without Renewal or of Contractor's affiliation with the RE/MAX Network upon any other event, in connection with any business thereafter carried on by Contractor, Contractor will:
- (1) immediately and clearly distinguish Contractor's business from RE/MAX and the RE/MAX System so as to avoid any possibility of confusion to the public, and not directly or indirectly at any time identify or hold Contractor out as being or as having been affiliated with Broker, Franchisor/Regional or the RE/MAX Network;
- (2) immediately cease use of the RE/MAX Marks, including removing,, erasing, or obliterating the RE/MAX Marks from Contractor's letterhead, stationery, printed matter, advertising, web sites and web pages (including without limitation, in visual content, hyperlinks, source code, meta tags, and third-party directory listings), software applications, social media services and other materials as well as all words and
designations indicating that you are or were associated or affiliated with Broker, Franchisor/Regional or the RE/MAX Network;
- (3) unless you have affiliated with another RE/MAX office, immediately notify Contractor's state real estate commission, any professional organizations that Contractor belongs to, and Contractor's clients that Contractor is no longer affiliated with the RE/MAX Network;
- (4) immediately assign and transfer any RE/MAX Formative Domain Names and any other Internet domain names that include any other service marks or trademarks of REMAX, LLC (or any variation thereof) owned, held or controlled by Contractor, to Broker, or upon their request, Franchisor/Regional, or take such actions regarding such domain name(s) as Franchisor/Regional may direct.
Source: Item 22 — Contracts (FDD pages 108–334)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Remax's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, following the termination or expiration of the agreement without renewal, a contractor must immediately and clearly distinguish their business from Remax to avoid any public confusion. The contractor cannot directly or indirectly identify or present themselves as being or having been affiliated with the Broker, Franchisor/Regional, or the Remax Network.
Specifically, the contractor must immediately stop using the Remax Marks, which includes removing or obliterating these marks from all business materials such as letterheads, stationery, advertising, websites, software applications, and social media. This extends to any words or designations that indicate an association or affiliation with Remax. Unless the contractor has affiliated with another Remax office, they must also notify their state real estate commission, professional organizations, and clients that they are no longer part of the Remax Network.
These restrictions are designed to protect Remax's brand and prevent any confusion among customers regarding the contractor's current affiliation. However, these prohibitions do not affect any rights or privileges the contractor may gain through a subsequent affiliation with another Remax franchisee. Remax, LLC, as the owner of the RE/MAX Marks, has the right to enforce these provisions through legal proceedings, including seeking injunctions and restraining orders, due to the difficulty in measuring the economic loss resulting from a breach of these terms.