Drafting Franchising Agreements under the New Code
The Franchising Code of Conduct Amendments have changed the game and will impact how you draft franchising agreements. Explore the real impact of the changes to operations and processes, key fact sheets and disclosure document. Gain valuable nuggets on the New Franchise Disclosure Register, plus examine the unresolved issues that you need to be aware of, and the consequences of failing to comply with obligations. Take away invaluable tips that you can immediately apply in your practice. WEB229N65
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Chair: Ben Coogan, Partner, Thomson Geer; Best Lawyers 2023, Franchise Law
9.00am to 10.00am Misleading and Deceptive Conduct in Franchising
- Disclosure obligations under the Franchising Code: how things can go off the rails
- The tension between giving financial information and protecting against claims
- Review of recent cases on misleading and deceptive conduct in franchising
Presented by Rohit Dighe, Associate Bird & Bird
Speaking materials prepared by: Lynne Lewis, Partner; Best Lawyers 2023, Franchise Law and Rohit Dighe, Associate Bird & Bird
10.00am to 11.00am Drafting Franchise Agreements Under the New Code
- Changes required to agreements as a result of recent changes to the Code
- The real impact of the changes and the effect it has on operations and processes
Presented by Racha Abboud, Partner, Baybridge Lawyers; member, Franchise Council of Australia; member, Women in Franchising
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
11.15am to 12.15pm The Disclosure Document Changes and New Franchise Disclosure Register, under the New Code
- The changes implemented to the disclosure document template
- How to navigate completing a disclosure document
- Drafting a key fact sheet
- Preparing for the New Franchise Disclosure Register and understanding the requirements of Franchisors and implications for franchisees
- Potential consequences of failing to comply with obligations
Presented by Elizabeth Gore-Jones, Principal, The Franchise & Business Lawyers; member, Franchising Committee, Queensland Law Society
12.15pm to 1.15pm Unfair Contract Terms, Recent Code Reform and Other Drafting Considerations
- Proposed changes to the unfair contract terms regime: A deep dive
- Review of recent unfair contract terms decisions and resulting drafting considerations
- Explore unresolved issues arising from the recent Code changes
Presented by Bronwyn Furse, Partner, Thomson Geer; Best Lawyers 2023, Lawyer of the Year in Franchise Law; Best Lawyers 2023, Intellectual Property Law, Privacy and Data Security Law; Recommended Intellectual Property Lawyer and Recommended TMT Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2022
Presenters
Ben Coogan
Ben Coogan, Partner, Thomson Geer Ben Coogan is a Partner at Thomson Geer Lawyers and practises in the areas of intellectual property and commercial litigation, information technology, franchising, defamation, competition and consumer law and trade mark prosecution. Ben also advises international and national clients about their intellectual property and technology related contracts, licences and distribution agreements and regulatory compliance issues. He has considerable specialist experience in patent, trade mark and copyright litigation within Queensland and nationally across the Federal Court of Australia, and internationally. Ben also advises and litigates disputes relating to competition and consumer, confidential information and trade secrets law. Ben is a qualified mediator and regularly acts as mediator in a variety of disputes. He also has experience in acting for clients and as an independent supervising solicitor in the execution of Anton Piller orders. He has written various articles and presented seminars on topics including intellectual property disputes, franchising and competition and consumer law, and completed his Masters of Laws specialising in commercial and intellectual property law. He has been recognised in Doyle's Guide 2018 to 2021 as "Preeminent" in intellectual property law and has also been recognised by his peers in intellectual property law in Best Lawyers for several years. Ben is the current Deputy Chair of the Queensland Law Society's Technology and Intellectual Property Law Committee and committee member of the Legal Services Commision Queensland Reference Group. He is a long-serving past committee member and treasurer of the Licensing and Executives Society of Australia & New Zealand (LESANZ) (Queensland Chapter) and a member of the Intellectual Property Society of Australia & New Zealand (IPSANZ), and Australian Corporate Lawyers Association (ACLA). He has been recognised in Doyle's Guide 2018 to 2021 as "Preeminent" in intellectual property law and has also been recognised by his peers in intellectual property law in Best Lawyers for several years. Ben is the current Deputy Chair of the Queensland Law Society's Technology and Intellectual Property Law Committee.
Rohit Dighe
I am an Associate in the Intellectual Property Group in our Sydney office. I was drawn towards this practice area by my interest in the overlap between commerce and intellectual property law. I aim to develop a practice that offers both contentious and non-contentious IP services, with a focus on supporting clients with business concerns such as brand protection, franchising and licensing. As a junior lawyer, my experience with commercial litigation includes assisting the firm's partners with large-scale, complex disputes where we have acted for multinational clients in IP-rich industries, such as IT&T and pharmaceuticals. For example, in a matter where we acted for a leading software company, I drafted evidence in chief, conducted document review and performed extensive legal research on key issues. Furthermore, in a copyright infringement matter where we were acting for a triple-A videogames publisher, I prepared affidavits for key witnesses in the litigation and drafted correspondence to the client and opposing parties. I have also garnered experience with transactional and advisory matters. Notably, I have experience with drafting and interpreting commercial agreements dealing with IP rights. Moreover, I have assisted clients with the registration and enforcement of trade marks, such as through drafting letters to IP Australia's Trade Marks Office in response to adverse examination reports. I have also drafted advice to clients on issues pertaining to the Australian Consumer Law, such as misleading and deceptive conduct, false advertising and consumer guarantees.
Racha Abboud
Racha Abboud has specialist expertise in franchising, with a wide range of experience in acting for National franchisors, master franchisees and franchisees. She also has a background in commercial leasing and finance. In addition to her technical expertise, Racha prides herself on being able to understand her clients' businesses, and their current and future needs. Drawing on her highly developed interpersonal skills, she is able to build long-lasting professional relationships with clients that enable her to provide practical, timely and relevant solutions for their businesses in areas such as, franchising law with a particular emphasis on advising franchisors as to their obligations under the Franchising Code of Conduct, reviewing, advising on and developing franchise documentation and associated documents, compliance, regulatory issues and dealing with disputes, retail and commercial leasing and licensing, contract negotiation and drafting (including Distribution Agreements, Licence Agreements, Trading Terms & Conditions and Confidentiality Deeds and purchases and sales of businesses. Racha has demonstrated leadership strengths and a proven ability to manage multiple responsibilities in a fast-paced environment. Her ability to think 'outside the box' when identifying potential problems results in innovative solutions for clients. In recognition of her expertise in franchising, Racha has been appointed Chairperson of Women in Franchising - a national association focussing on key issues relating to women in franchising; providing opportunities and initiatives for contribution, networking and professional development. Racha is also is a committee member of the Franchise Council of Australia.
Elizabeth Gore-Jones
Elizabeth Gore-Jones was admitted in 1994 and commenced specialising in franchising law in 2000. She started her law firm "The Franchise & Business Lawyers" in 2012 specialising in providing commercial, business and franchising advice to franchisors and franchisees alike. She is a member of the Queensland Law Society Franchising Committee and is a past member of the Franchise Council of Australia, the Queensland chapter of the Franchise Council committee and the Women in Franchising committee. Elizabeth lectures at the Bond University PLT course explaining franchise legal practice to graduate law students. Elizabeth has a particular interest in setting up new franchise systems and assisting franchisees in dispute to reach an agreement without resorting to the court system.
Bronwyn Furse
Bronwyn Furse is a commercial lawyer with specialist expertise in the areas of intellectual property, privacy, regulatory and competition and consumer law. Her practice traverses public and private industry sectors including automotive, higher education, health, manufacturing, medical devices, energy and resources, government, financial services and ecommerce, from start ups through to multinational groups. Bronwyn’s intellectual property practice includes advising on all matters of ownership, protection, commercialisation, licensing and enforcement of intellectual property rights. She routinely prepares and negotiates agreements for domestic and cross-jurisdictional licensing arrangements, commercialisation of intellectual property and technology procurement. Bronwyn has extensive franchising experience. She advises some of Australia’s most well known, and longest running franchise networks. Her practice includes assisting with the day to day management of franchise networks, along with related intellectual property, privacy and competition and consumer law issues. She also routinely assists in the expansion of networks into offshore jurisdictions and establishment of new franchise networks. Bronwyn is well known for her specialist expertise in privacy law and data protection and commercialisation. She has a particular interest and depth of expertise in privacy issues arising from data sharing and transfer, analytics and commercialisation, as well as behavioural advertising and electronic marketing. Over the years, Bronwyn has been seconded to various clients including global corporate groups, as well as universities and research organisations. Her in-house experience has provided her with invaluable insight, and honed her abilities to provide commercially astute and pragmatic advice to clients across a broad range of disciplines. Bronwyn is an active member of various professional intellectual property and privacy organisations, including Trustee of the Licensing Executives Society of Australia and New Zealand (LESANZ), an active member of the Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) (Legal Sub-Committee and South Australian Chapter Committee), and a participating member of the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand (IPSANZ) and International Association of Privacy Professionals of Australia and New Zealand (iappANZ). Bronwyn is widely recognised for her specialist expertise. She is regularly asked to present at conferences on issues related to intellectual property, privacy and franchising, and to provide tailored training programs to clients and industry associations. In 2016, Bronwyn was awarded an Australasian Lawyers ‘Rising Star’ award, and recognised by the publication as having ‘an outstanding reputation as an IP lawyer’. Bronwyn has been acknowledged by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific (2018 & 2019) for her work in the Intellectual Property space. Bronwyn has been recognised by her peers as one of the Best Lawyers in Australia in the areas of Franchise Law, and Intellectual Property Law (2019 - 2022). Bronwyn has recently been recognised in Doyle’s Guide as a recommended lawyer in South Australia in the areas of Intellectual Property (2020 - 2021) and Technology, Media & Telecommunications Law (2020).