For a Southern Steer franchise, what action is the franchisee required to take to effectuate the assignment of improvement rights to the franchisor?
Southern_Steer Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchisee hereby assigns all proprietary rights described in this Section 15.7 to Franchisor without additional consideration.
Franchisee will execute such additional assignments or documentation to effectuate the assignment of these rights or as Franchisor deems necessary to enable it, at its expense, to apply for, prosecute, and obtain copyrights, trademarks, patents, or other proprietary rights in the United States and in other countries.
Franchisee hereby irrevocably appoints Franchisor as Franchisee attorney-in-fact for the purpose of executing such documents.
Franchisor will have the right to make Improvements available for use by all Southern Steer franchisees.
The expression "any changes, improvements, or enhancement" includes, without limitation, any methods or materials, such as ad copy, for advertising or marketing for the services and products of Franchisee's Southern Steer Business, as well as methods or materials for providing the services and products of Franchisee's Southern Steer Business or Other Businesses.
Source: Item 22 — ITEM. 22 CONTRACTS (FDD pages 61–168)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Southern Steer Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must take specific actions regarding improvements made to the Southern Steer business. The franchisee is required to assign all proprietary rights related to any changes, improvements, or enhancements to the Southern Steer business to the franchisor without receiving additional compensation. This includes, but is not limited to, improvements to the Marks, System, Confidential Information, Trade Secrets, Brand Manual, and Website. These improvements automatically become the property of Southern Steer Franchising International, LLC.
To further ensure the transfer of these rights, the franchisee must execute additional assignments or documentation as deemed necessary by Southern Steer. This enables Southern Steer, at its own expense, to apply for and obtain copyrights, trademarks, patents, or other proprietary rights both in the United States and internationally. The franchisee also irrevocably appoints Southern Steer as their attorney-in-fact for the purpose of executing these documents.
This means that any innovation, whether it be in advertising, marketing, or the methods and materials used to provide services and products, automatically becomes the property of Southern Steer. While Southern Steer has the right to make these improvements available for use by all franchisees, the original franchisee who developed the improvement does not retain any ownership or rights to it. This is a fairly standard practice in franchising, as it allows the franchisor to maintain consistency and control over the brand and system while leveraging the collective creativity of its franchisees.