The advantages and disadvantages of franchising are many. A franchise is a major decision for a business to make.

Tahir Basheer of Sheridan's law firm outlines the main advantages and disadvantages of franchising as a business model from the perspective of the brand owner.

A company franchising their business (the 'franchisor'), in essence, provides another party (the 'franchise'), with all the building blocks required to create a successful business.

For example, they will provide the brand: the trademarks, designs and marketing materials as well as project management, buying and operational support. The franchise uses those building blocks in exchange for the risk in the business: they rent the premises, pay their staff and so on.

Franchises are often found in the food industry, such as big brands like KFC. But the franchise model can also extend into the fashion industry. A good example of a successful franchise is Tommy Hilfiger – a third of their 1,000 stores are run by franch...

To become a franchisee, one must come to a franchise agreement with the franchisor, often paying a lump sum up front and incurring a number of liabilities. It is not a decision to be taken lightly. Here I discuss some of the key pros and cons:

Advantages of franchising from a franchisee perspective

Accessibility and support

Franchisees will benefit from the contacts and expertise of the franchisor and be assisted with site selection, lease negotiation, site development etc. and be provided with formal training programmes and operating systems. Franchisees will also benefit from the ongoing research and development carried out by the franchisor.

Reduction of risk

Successful franchises will have a proven track record, so franchisees can be confident that the main problems with the business will have been addressed. Therefore, subject to effective input, the risk of business failure will be significantly reduced. This is reflected in the fact that far fewer franchisees fail within th...

Brand Policing is a necessity to protect your intellectual property, not just a suggestion.

Tahir Basheer of law firm Sheridans uses an example of a trademark infringement case to explain why brand owners should have a brand enforcement strategy in place.

Many brand owners think of intellectual property rights infringement as two separate problems:

1. Stopping major infringements, including copying by competitors; and
2. General brand policing (including online marketplaces and smaller scale infringements) which aims to maintain consistency with brand image.

They rightly consider problem #1 as a vital strategic move for their brand, which they are willing, if needed, to divert considerable resources to.

However, problem #2 is considered by many brand owners as a "nice thing to have." You might think that only big brands like Nike or those in the LVMH group undertake these kinds of activities. Aside from the obvious benefits: recouping lost profits and sustaining brand image, there ...

Anti Copying In Design ("ACID") is a trade organisation set up by designers for designers and manufacturers, to help them protect their intellectual property.

We spoke to Dids Macdonald, CEO of ACID, to find out how fashion designers can benefit from the work that they do.

Tell us about the work that ACID does

ACID has over 1,000 member companies who individually also employ thousands of designers in 25 different sectors.

We have a lobbying and campaigning arm which raises awareness about design’s significance to the UK economy, not only for its members but for designers in general. ACID also belongs to the Alliance for Intellectual Property, and designers were the biggest contributor to its pre-election manifesto driven by ACID. Research told us that Intellectual Property (IP) is very important to their growth, developments in technology offer significant growth opportunities, and that a stable legal framework is important to their business.

However, the research indicated that:

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority announced that it had opened an investigation into suspected ‘anti-competitive arrangements’ in the UK clothing, footwear and fashion sectors. Tahir Basheer, a lawyer specialising in fashion and media law for leading London-based law firm Sheridans, explains what that means for you.

They say that some of the arrangements in these sectors could infringe competition law and you’re probably thinking: “What is an anti-competitive arrangement and do I need to worry about this investigation?”

Well, the good news is that this investigation is only at a preliminary stage and there have been no findings of any unlawful behaviour yet. But the investigation is a timely reminder for fashion businesses to review and evaluate their current arrangements, especially if they have a sizable market share.

When people think of anti-competitive behaviour they think of cynical monopolies or criminal cartels. While these are a target of competition law, the law i...

I am a young twenty-something who has always been passionate about three things: fashion, beauty and business! I currently work in PR which I am thoroughly enjoying as there is always variety to my day. But, 2014 was the year I decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship and launch an idea I was stalling on… Chaela Rose beachwear.

There are so many things that you prepare yourself for when launching your fashion business, but no matter how ready you think you are, receiving a letter from a large well-known brand that could harm your business, and threatening an intellectual property battle, would shock anyone. So what happens when a fashion start-up is told that the unique name created for their brand, is an infringement on a big brand's trademark? It happened to Michaela Anderson last year, and she shared her journey with us to inform others.

I love going on holidays, whether it’s a girls' holiday to Cancun or a family holiday to Greece. I also enjoy pre-holiday shopping and g...

ACID, the trade body concerned with helping designers and manufacturers to protect their intellectual property, explains what can be done to prevent someone ripping off your design - and what action you can take if you find out it's already happened.

ACID CEO, Dids Macdonald’s said: “Imitation isn't flattery if it costs you your business. It nearly cost me mine!”

And so she shares her expert advice on how to best protect your intellectual property below, to ensure that you are prepared to protect your designs:

Cross all your T's and dot every I

If costs permit, make sure you register your designs as comprehensively as possible. UK and EU registration authorities do not examine your registrations, so what you submit is what you have to rely on. So, the more detail you include, the better!

Alternatively, if you can’t afford registration, ACID membership will give you access to a Design Databank through ACID Marketplace which holds over 300,000 designs. This doesn’t add to your desig...

In his last article, Tahir Basheer of law firm Sheridans explained what anti-competitive arrangements mean for you. This week he explains vertical agreements and how fashion businesses can be affected by them.

In this article I will focus on vertical agreements – where it is probably easier for an unsuspecting business to fall foul of the rules, especially in the fashion industry where most businesses have arrangements with a large number of suppliers and distributors.

Avoiding infringements

The main types of vertical agreement that commonly face competition issues are distribution agreements. Competition issues will NOT arise where the agreement is within the same group, or where the agreement is with an authorised agent.

This is one of the main benefits of appointing an agent rather than a distributor; however, there are also associated downsides such as the ability to be bound by the agent’s actions. No doubt you are thinking that this legislation could catch a lot of your agree...

Being a fashion start-up business owner means that you need to wear a lot of hats, and one of the most challenging to make fit, is the legal hat.

So this week, Tahir Basheer of law firm Sheridans explains what issues need to be addressed regarding structuring an employment contract.

Numerous recruiters from high street brands regularly attend the Graduate Fashion Weeks, eager to get their hands on the next wave of emerging talent and sign them up. In the wake of this employment feeding frenzy, it seems apposite to stress the importance of brands making sure that they get it right when it comes to employment contracts.
No matter who you are hiring, be it designers straight out of university or seasoned directors looking to shake up your business strategy, if brands do not take the right steps to ensure they have proper employment contracts in place, they can face big problems.

This is an area in which we have seen things go really wrong for both brands and designers. In the absence of...

Many fashion start-ups seek out investors in order to grow their businesses, but there is a lot that you need to know about as part of preparing for investment. Tahir Basheer of Sheridan's law firm has some key information that you need to know.

Funding is a crucial factor in any successful start-up’s story. An injection of cash can provide the additional working capital that gives a start-up the platform to scale in a way that would not be possible with its finances alone.

Raising money is something many aspirational start-ups may have to prepare for. Funding might come from a personal contact (if you are lucky!) or a third party investor. Before you seek out investment you should ensure the business is in tiptop shape.

Every business will have its own individual needs and quirks; however, there are certain legal considerations when preparing for investment that is common for all:

Choose the right corporate vehicle

Most investors will want to receive shares for (at least part of)...