Franchising is an increasingly popular business expansion strategy. In its contemporary business format mode it is a method of business operation which has revolutionized the distribution of goods and services in virtually all industry sectors in most countries. This business concept brings benefit to both franchisor and franchisee. Among other things, intellectual property elements are "the heart" of franchise business which required to be fully protected. The legal framework governing intellectual property issues regarding franchise might vary in other countries, but in common, those elements are the prioritized concern of the parties to the franchise relationship.
This paper investigates in the legal framework of protecting intellectual property factors regarding franchising internationally and cover the following legal issues:
- Understanding the theoretical content of intellectual property elements in franchise practice.
- Analyzing the regulations of some other countries regarding intellectual property issue in franchise.
- Proposing recommendation to improve the current legislation regulating intellectual property issue in franchise in Vietnam.
In order to simplify the research, this dissertation is divided into 5 Chapters as follows:
- Chapter 1 gives the basic knowledge of franchising, the intellectual property element involved in the franchise relationship;
- Chapter 2 analyzes how intellectual property elements are protected under the law of the United States;
- Chapter 3 studies on the intellectual property protection mechanism in European countries and some Asian countries;
- Chapter 4 introduces the practice of protecting intellectual property elements in the franchise in Vietnam;
- Chapter 5 moves forward to the recommendation which aims to enhance Vietnamese legislation to provide suitable mechanism protection in compliance with international laws.