International Franchising is a tricky business and different cultures varying in their levels of integrity, yet as a franchisor it is important to extent brand name, collect royalties and to do so in as many parts of the world as possible. It makes since therefore to take a few risks, knowing that issues will arise. Since various nations have different laws governing franchising and business transactions and some countries have no laws it makes sense to have clauses in the franchise agreement to address this and in doing so I suppose you will need to consult a professional parasite scum [attorney] to assist you thru this process. We felt it necessary for our company to address the potential eventuality of non-compliance and injunctions in our international agreement so I came up with this clause and stuck it in our franchise agreement; 7.18 Injunctions Nothing contained in this Franchise Agreement shall bar The Company or Franchisees right to obtain specific performance of the provisions of this Agreement and injunctive relief against threatened conduct that will cause Franchisee or Franchisor loss or damages under customary equity rules, including applicable rules for obtaining restraining orders and preliminary injunctions. Franchisee recognizes the unique value and secondary meaning attached to the System, the trade names, service marks, trademarks, standards of operation and the trade practices and agrees that any noncompliance with the terms of this Agreement or any unauthorized or improper use will cause irreparable damage to Franchisor and its Franchisees. Franchisee therefore agrees that if Franchisee engages in any such unauthorized or improper use, during or after the period of this franchise, Franchisor will be entitled to both permanent and temporary injunctive relief from any court of competent jurisdiction in addition to any other remedies prescribed by laws. - - - - - - - - - - - - You can see simply by reading this clause I created for our international franchise agreements why it was necessary to include it. Just because you have a good and tight and fair franchise agreement does not mean your counterpart in the other country respects the written word or those promises they make. In fact many cultures begin the negotiation process after the agreements are signed and it is a little tough to do business in that way, but in the international world of business you kind of get use to it. Please consider all this in 2006. |
