Does Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential own any registered copyrights material to the franchise?
Sonesta_Select_Sonesta_Essential Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
We grant franchises to operate select service, upscale hotels that operate under the service mark Sonesta Select® Hotels and related service marks and trademarks (the "Sonesta Select Marks") or the service mark Sonesta Essential® Hotels and related service marks and trademarks (the "Sonesta Essential Marks"), and certain other related proprietary marks, including all service marks, trademarks, logos, insignia, emblems, symbols, designs, slogans, distinguishing characteristics, trade names, and all other marks or characteristics (collectively referred to as the "Marks") associated with or used to identify Brand Hotels and the products and services they offer, and similar intellectual property rights that we designate to be used in connection with Brand Hotels.
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.
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.
If we decide to modify or discontinue use of any of the Marks or to use one or more additional or substitute Marks, you must follow our directions to modify or discontinue use of the Marks or to use one or more additional or substitute Marks within a reasonable time after notice. We have no obligations to reimburse you for any expenses resulting from a change in Marks, for your expenses for promoting a modified or substitute trademark or service mark, or for any indirect expense, such as advertising expenses, or for any goodwill associated with any discontinued Mark.
We and our affiliates use, promote, and license others to use and promote certain trademarks, service marks, and other commercial symbols in operating Brand Hotels and may create, use, and license other trademarks, service marks, and commercial symbols to identify Brand Hotels and the products and services they offer (collectively, the "Marks").
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 grants franchises to operate upscale hotels under the service marks "Sonesta Select® Hotels" and "Sonesta Essential® Hotels." These marks, along with related trademarks, logos, and other commercial symbols, are collectively referred to as the "Marks." Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential and its affiliates use, promote, and license these Marks to others for operating Brand Hotels. The franchise grants a nonexclusive right to operate either a Sonesta Select or Sonesta Essential-branded hotel under the applicable Marks. Franchisees must operate under and prominently display the Marks for their designated brand concept in their Hotel and may not use the Marks without authorization. Unauthorized use of the Marks constitutes an infringement of Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential's rights and a material breach of the Franchise Agreement.
The FDD states that if Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential decides to modify or discontinue use of any of the Marks or to use one or more additional or substitute Marks, franchisees must follow their directions to modify or discontinue use of the Marks or to use one or more additional or substitute Marks within a reasonable time after notice. However, Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential has no obligations to reimburse franchisees for any expenses resulting from a change in Marks, for their expenses for promoting a modified or substitute trademark or service mark, or for any indirect expense, such as advertising expenses, or for any goodwill associated with any discontinued Mark.
The Franchise Agreement also states that franchisees may not prepare any adaptation, translation, transliteration, or work derived from the Brand Standards, Marks, Confidential Information, or other proprietary rights without Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential's consent. If Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential approves such adaptation, translation, transliteration, or work derivation, the derivative work will be their property, and the franchisee must assign all rights, title, and interest in it to them. The FDD does not explicitly state whether Sonesta Select Sonesta Essential owns registered copyrights beyond the trademarks and service marks, but it does emphasize their ownership and control over all intellectual property related to the franchise system.