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Log In / Register | May 18, 2013

Are Franchisees Well Informed? Revisiting Franchise Relationship Laws

Posted Wed, 2013-05-01 09:26 by Robert Purvin

Are franchise owners really well informed? Law professors Robert Emerson and Uri Benoliel say no and that there is a powerful case for the need to protect franchise owners from franchisor opportunism.

Franchising Myth Three: Franchisees Own Their Franchised Business

Posted Wed, 2013-05-01 09:02 by Robert Purvin

Many franchisees consider themselves to be business owners. A franchisee might hire and manage employees, sign the lease on a store or restaurant, handle customers, keep the books and take home profits at the end of each month.

Franchising Myth Two: In Business for Yourself but Not by Yourself

Posted Wed, 2013-03-27 02:21 by Robert Purvin

Many prospective franchise owners are attracted to the concept of buying a franchise because they believe it combines the freedom of owning a business with the safety of a benevolent guiding hand. Franchisors cultivate this concept. The catch phrase of the International Franchise Association is “In business for yourself, but not by yourself!”

Franchising Myth One: Franchises Are Safe Investments

Posted Wed, 2013-03-13 07:23 by Robert Purvin

Perhaps the most common and pervasive franchise myth is that franchising per se is a safe investment. Fed by a steady diet of industry hyperbole, the conventional wisdom that feeds this myth contends that when you buy a franchise you are investing in a proven brand and an established business system that will virtually guarantee business success.

Ex-Franchisee Liable for Counterfeiting Marks

Posted Wed, 2012-02-01 10:53 by Janet Sparks
Courts tell ex-franchisee he cannot use or conterfeit former franchisor's trademarks. It makes him pay, big time.
Not everyone can use the Century 21 logos. Photo/Century 21

LAFAYETTE, Indiana – A district judge ruled last month that a terminated Century 21 franchisee’s continued use of the franchisor’s trademark constituted not only trademark infringement but also counterfeiting. As a result, a court ruled that Century 21 was entitled to collect treble damages and attorney fees.

Franchising’s Very Own Herman Cain

Posted Mon, 2011-10-17 16:56 by BMM
GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, former Godfather Pizza CEO
GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain. photo/gage skidmore

It's been a meteoric rise. Former franchisor CEO Herman Cain, whose father was a janitor and mother a domestic worker, is in a statistical tie with fellow presidential candidate Mitt Romney. 

Army Seeks Employers, but IFA Wants Buyers

Posted Wed, 2010-09-29 01:05 by BMM

WASHINGTON — The International Franchise Association, a trade association that largely represents the interests of franchisors, announced this month that it is partnering with the U.S. Army Reserve to “broaden employment opportunities for reservists by including franchise ownership as new career options.”

Ten Most Powerful Franchise Associations

Posted Fri, 2010-07-23 12:10 by BMM

When it comes to industrial might and lobbying power, the franchise industry is lopsided. A few big groups have the lion's share. 

New Franchisee Federations Spring Up

Posted Sat, 2010-06-19 17:13 by BMM

LEXINGTON — As spring 2010 comes to a close after an extraordinary recession, new independent franchisee federations are springing up, while old ones have either changed or otherwise passed quietly during the dead of winter.

AAFD Accredited Agreements Do Not Translate to Good Franchise Investments

Posted Tue, 2008-07-15 05:00 by Don Sniegowski
SAN DIEGO (Blue MauMau) - The Chair of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers, Robert Purvin, says that the organization's accredited franchise agreements should not be seen as an endorsement to buy that franchise.