| Vol. 14 No. 2 | Spring 2011 |
INSIDE THIS EDITION 2011 Nominating Committee Selected 34th Annual Forum on Franchising: Flying the Flag of Franchising FDA Publishes Proposed Regulations on Menu Labeling Requirements NASAA Project Group Seeks Input on Multi-Unit Franchising New Location for California Department of Corporations' San Francisco Office Become a California Board Certified Franchise and Distribution Specialist! New Books from the Forum on Franchising THE FRANCHISE LAWYER Associate Editors Beata Krakus (2013) Forum on Franchising | NASAA Project Group Seeks Input on Multi-Unit Franchising Multi-unit franchising involves many types of arrangements, including, for example, area development or representation agreements, area or regional franchises, development agent agreements, master franchises, and subfranchises. Franchisors using these arrangements, and other parties involved in these arrangements (area developers, development agents, subfranchisors, etc.), often have questions about their disclosure obligations under the FTC Franchise Rule and state franchise laws. The Franchise and Business Opportunities Project Group ("Project Group") of the North American Securities Administrators Association ("NASAA") is beginning work on a new Commentary that will address a wide range of issues on multi-unit franchising and provide practical guidance about the disclosure obligations of all involved parties. Some multi-unit franchising issues already have been addressed by the FTC in FAQs 9 and 13, by NASAA in Sections 20.2, 20.3 and 20.4 of its 2009 Commentary on its 2008 Franchise Registration and Disclosure Guidelines, and by California in its Release 18-F. The Project Group, in consultation with the staff of the FTC and state franchise examiners, intends to give expanded guidance on those and other issues in the new Commentary. The Project Group seeks your input on issues, ambiguities or problems that you believe should be addressed in the new Commentary; any resolutions or solutions that you propose; and any relevant cases, statutory provisions, regulations, papers or other resources that you believe should be considered. While the Project Group's original deadline for submitting suggestions has passed, they will endeavor to review any suggestions they receive by Friday, May 27, 2011. Please send your input to dcantone@oag.state.md.us and tleets@corp.ca.gov if you are comfortable sharing your ideas with attribution. If you would prefer to share your ideas on a confidential basis without attribution, please send your input to cmodell@larkinhoffman.com, rkgardner@dadygardner.com or warren.lewis@akerman.com. The Franchise Lawyer is published by the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising, 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654-7598. Requests for permission to reprint should be sent to the attention of Manager, Copyrights and Licensing, via email at copyright@abanet.org or via fax to 312-988-6030. American Bar Association | 321 N Clark | Chicago, IL 60654 | 1-800-285-2221 |