Can a Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential franchisee copy or distribute the Brand Manual to anyone?
Sonesta_Select_Sonesta_Essential Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You may not prepare any adaptation, translation, transliteration, or work derived from the Brand Standards, Marks, Confidential Information (as defined in Item 14) or other proprietary rights without our consent. If we approve such adaptation, translation, transliteration, or work derivation, you agree that the derivative work will be our property, and you assign all your right, title and interest in it to us.
You must operate under and prominently display the Marks for your designated brand concept in your Hotel. You may not adopt any other names in operating your Hotel that we do not approve. You also may not use any of the Marks or Network Marks, or the words "Sonesta", "Sonesta Select " or "Sonesta Essential" or any similar word(s) or acronyms: (a) in your corporate, partnership, business or trade name except as we provide in the Franchise Agreement, the Brand Manual or otherwise in writing, or (b) in any Online Presence, except as we provide in the Franchise Agreement, the Brand Manual or otherwise in writing, or (c) in any business operated separate from your Hotel, including in the name or identity of any development or business adjacent to or associated with your Hotel. Any unauthorized use of the Marks will be an infringement of our and our affiliates' rights and a material breach of the Franchise Agreement.
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- Confidentiality of this Agreement. The Franchisee Parties agree that the existence of this Agreement and its terms are strictly confidential and that, therefore, the Franchisee Parties and the other Releasing Parties shall not provide or disclose to any third party, unless authorized in writing to do so by us or properly directed or ordered to do so by public authority, any information regarding the existence of this Agreement, the terms or conditions contained in this Agreement, or any dealings or negotiations with us or any of the Released Parties related to this Agreement.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS, AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 68–69)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 FDD, Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential franchisees are restricted from creating adaptations, translations, or derivative works from the Brand Standards and Marks without prior consent from Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential. If Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential approves any such derivative work, the franchisee must agree that the work becomes the property of Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential, and the franchisee must assign all rights and interests to them.
Additionally, franchisees must operate under and prominently display the Marks for their designated brand concept within their Hotel. They cannot use the Marks in any business separate from their Hotel or in any unauthorized manner. Any unauthorized use of the Marks constitutes an infringement of Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential's rights and a material breach of the Franchise Agreement.
Item 23 of the Franchise Agreement outlines confidentiality provisions, stating that franchisees must keep the terms of the Franchise Agreement confidential. Franchisees are prohibited from disclosing any information about the agreement to third parties unless authorized in writing by Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential or required by public authority. This confidentiality extends to the existence of the agreement, its terms, and any dealings or negotiations with Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential related to the agreement.