In Good Company – Managing Intellectual Property Issues in Franchising
WIPO has just published a new guide “In Good Company, Managing Intellectual Property Issues in Franchising”. This publication is available for free down load and print copies could be ordered from the WIPO book shop.
At the heart of franchising is the licensing of intellectual property in conjunction with a proven business model. Given that franchising is one of the fastest and most popular means of business expansion, this publication is a timely and useful complement to WIPO’s existing line of publications designed to increase understanding of how the intellectual property system is integral to business competitiveness. We hope that potential franchisors and franchisees worldwide will find this guide an important and useful resource. We also hope that it would be of interest to managers and other senior staff members of franchisors and that, in addition, it may be of interest to students and the general public, for whom it could provide an accessible point of entry into an otherwise complex subject.
The guide takes the reader through the various phases of the franchise process: preparation; the franchise agreement; the management of a franchise, and, finally, the termination of a franchise agreement. The importance of managing the intellectual property assets of a franchise is a core theme permeating the entire publication; in particular the guide emphasizes the importance of the brand and the various intellectual property rights that underscore, nurture and strengthen a brand.
