Franchise Regulation

Paul Steinberg and Michael Webster, both franchise attorneys, have created a website for research on regulation of the franchise relationship.

Paul Steinberg's and Gerald Lescartre's article entitled "Beguiling Heresy - Regulating the Franchise Relationship" is reprinted on the website courtesy of the Pennsylvania Law Review.

The article is a comprehensive look at how the United States has regulated the franchise relationship over the last 30 years, the consequences of that regulation, and suggestions.

We are looking for thoughtful comments on the topics Paul and Gerald discussed.

One of the major conceptual difficulties with regulating the franchise relationship is the absence of a really useful legal model or paradigm.

Contract law and trademark law have been the two main legal tools used by franchise systems in order maintain orderly relations between franchisor and franchisee.

Unfortunately, since "proven business models" and "well-known trademarks" are not static concepts, contract law and trademark law have not proven particularly helpful for solving the corporate governance concerns in a franchise system.

We want to engage everyone involved with franchise systems, scholars, attorneys, and regulators from all jurisdictions to examine the franchise relationship to come up with superior solutions which don't rely merely on contract law and trademark law.