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01-03-2010, 02:33 PM
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Question and and answer about Abandoned Franchise & Trademarks?
Question and and answer about Abandoned Franchise & Trademarks?
Q : Working on acquiring an interest in a company who was the first franchisee of a corporation that was dissolved. The trademark "franchise name" with the US office was canceled and the franchisor has not been in contact with the present owner for about fifteen years, nearly ten of which have occurred since the expiration of the franchise agreement though the present owner has continued to operate using the "Marks". I feel that if has been a long enough time since the marks were last used that I should be able to put the pieces back together again and start franchising sometime in the future. I haven't mentioned anything about this to the owner as I would like to first acquire an interest in the company and in the future control the marks and franchise rights, etc. There is only one other franchisee (ever to my knowledge) and they are still in operation in close proximity to the company that I am interested in who is also still using the Marks. So I'm at a starting point in this venture and would be interested in hearing a few opinions on the following: 1. Where to start the process? 2. What potential legal liabilities are involved? 3. How much would the legal process cost to straighten out this situation in my favor? A : Let me make sure I understand the facts here. X owned or owns the rights in a trademark "ABC." Sometime more than 15 years ago, X entered into a franchise agreement with Y, which allowed Y to use the "ABC" mark. Right so far? At some point, the following have occurred: 1. The USPTO canceled the registration for the mark "ABC" 2. Someone else (call it Z) entered into a franchise agreement with X and has been using the ABC mark continuously since then. 3. X dissolved (I assume X was a corporation) 4. About 10 years ago, the franchise agreement between X and Y expired. All right? What's not clear from your post is whether Y has been using the "ABC" mark continuously since entering into the franchise agreement with X (and despite the expiration of the franchise agreement). "feel that if has been a long enough time since the marks were last used that I should be able to put the pieces back together again and start franchising sometime in the future." Your first step is to verify that you can do this, and that might not be the case. If Y and/or Z have been using the mark continuously since entering into the franchise agreements with X, then one or both of them probably owns rights in the mark, which likely would preclude you from making any use of it. If you can acquire rights in the mark, the only way to do so is by using it in commerce or having a bona fide intent to do so. I strongly suggest you consult with a local trademark attorney before proceeding in any way. This forum offers free legal advice for citizens of the following States of America Alabama AL , Alaska AK , American Samoa AS , Arizona AZ , Arkansas AR , California CA , Colorado CO , Connecticut CT , Delaware DE , District of Columbia DC , Federated States of Micronesia FM , Florida FL , Georgia GA , Guam GU , Hawaii HI , Idaho ID , Illinois IL , Indiana IN , Iowa IA ,Kansas KS , Kentucky KY , Louisiana LA , Maine ME , Marshall Islands MH , Maryland MD , Massachusetts MA , Michigan MI , Minnesota MN , Mississippi MS , Missouri MO , Montana MT , Nebraska NE , Nevada NV , New Hampshire NH , New Jersey NJ , New Mexico NM , New Mexico NM , New York NY , North Carolina NC , North Dakota ND , Northern Mariana Islands MP , Ohio OH , Oklahoma OK , Oregon OR , Palau PW , Pennsylvania PA , Puerto Rico PR , Rhode Island RI , South Carolina SC , South Dakota SD , Tennessee TN , Texas TX , Utah UT , Vermont VT , Virgin Islands VI , Virginia VA , Washington WA , West Virginia WV , Wisconsin WI , Wyoming WY 
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