 Franchise VS License legal expertise needed.
"A franchise contains two licenses. A trademark license (the name and
fee) and a business opportunity license (a system and a fee). The
combination of those licenses in the same relationship creates a
franchise."
If you are , or know of an attorney who specializes in the
distinctions between Franchises and Licenses, please
respond. We got ourselves into a pickle and need help.
I purchased a license from people I knew through our daughter's friend.
They said they had a proven formula and that I would be taking in
orders hand over fist . They said they would show me how and stay on
top of me till I excelled. This license for this staging business gave
me the use of a said to be nationally recognized Brand name, a
territory within which I could work ,use of their contracts, a
business plan, web site advertising, opportunity for bulk purchasing,
updates on trends via email and supposed support listed in writing on
their web site under business opportunities/ At first I was told I had
to charge a certain minimum. So I lost many jobs to competitors because
of price. Then they said I should probably charge less till people get
to know who I am. Well that is why I bought a recognized Brand. Their
coaching was exasperating in it's contradictions -not helpful over
all. Committed as we are, my partner and I began to teach ourselves
through trial and error. Even their contract gave us problems with
clients who became irate. When I had an attorney as a client, they
would tell me the contract was crazy and contradictory.
Right now we are not getting any calls. Although the agreement states
that we function independently of one another, they have all calls go
to their 800 number and therefore control what referrals we get. They
are supposed to send the leads for my territory to me but they haven't
been doing so, and on top of that it looks like they and the other
licensee have done work in my territory. We have done very successful
jobs and people are telling us that they are referring lots of clients
but we don't get the calls. Furthermore, I am listed as designer the
web site with their phone number. So it looks like I just work for
them. Yet I invested several hundred thousand dollars in inventory and
am in debt now that the flow of calls is non existent. We cannot print
any cards without their OK and of course they want their number on
it.So it looks to me as though an attorney who is savvy in this area
could really do some correcting. I can't even sell this.
Question is: Can we find anything criminal in what they are doing in
which case the department of Corporation could step in or the DA? Is
there any way I can
recoup my investment. Is their non compete clause binding? I need help
quickly as now I am completely out of pocket on my running costs. Many
Thanks.
Cheers J.T.
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