Trade-Marks Are Critical To Franchising

A franchise can mean a lot of different things to different people.  To some, it is a gateway towards business ownership with potentially less risk than going it alone.  To others, it's the ability to sell a product and provide a service which has a level of quality associated with it.  But, at the end of the day, franchising starts with one basic element – a license to use a trade-mark.

And, yet, I am constantly surprised by the number of first-time franchisors who do not appreciate the value in obtaining trade-mark protection for their name or logo, who are happy to keep their fingers' crossed for the first few years and hope that nobody else uses, or is already using, the same or similar name.  The trade-mark goes a long way in creating the value that is the franchise system – it implies the support which franchisees seek to have, and certifies the quality of that good or service being sold and purchased.  It's the beacon that tells customers that there will be no