On behalf of Garner, Ginsburg & Johnsen, P.A. on Tuesday, April 27, 2010. Franchisees often find that they have been wronged by their franchisor, but are unable to pursue relief because they signed a general release of all claims against the franchisor.  Whenever you, as a franchisee, get a general release from your franchisor, you Read more…

Let’s take a look at some advertising language that franchisors use to entice potential franchise buyers.  After all, these advertisements are often the sole reason a prospective franchisee reaches out to a franchisor in the first place. “Own your own business by owning a franchise.” “We want to share our successful franchise opportunity with a Read more…

February 27, 2024 Minnesota’s cannabis regulatory agency, the Office of Cannabis Management (also referred to in the law as the “Office”) will be in charge of drafting and issuing rules and regulations related to the industry. It is tasked with a variety of obligations, including:  To develop, maintain, and enforce an organized system of regulation Read more…

Questions to Ask Franchisees Before Buying a Franchise When you are buying a franchise one of the best sources of information is existing franchisees. The following list of questions to ask before buying a franchise is not exhaustive, but it can be used as a template to assist you in understanding questions to ask franchisees Read more…

July 27, 2017 According to the Supreme Court Ruling on Trademark Law, It Doesn’t Matter! In June 2017 the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that prohibits the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) in certain situations from rejecting potentially offensive trademark requests based on the grounds that it may be potentially disparaging. One issue Read more…

February 27, 2024 People want to know what Minnesota’s cannabis license application process is going to look like. While we likely will not see the finalized application forms for at least 6 months, it is important to start planning for the substance that you will likely want to and/or have to include. While the statute Read more…

June 15, 2014 Franchisors tend to be overly wary of franchisees bringing lawsuits against them. As a result, franchisors frequently try to make franchisees sign “general releases” of any claims whenever they can. A general release is just what it sounds like: It is a document in which the franchisee releases the franchisor from any Read more…

July 23, 2014 Franchisees sometimes find themselves in the position that their agreements have expired, and yet they continue to do business with the franchisor as they always did.  Sometimes franchisors offer official extensions of the agreement, but often they do not.  This may leave the franchisee in a state of limbo. In a recent Read more…

March 20, 2015 Minnesota’s omnibus liquor bill passed in the Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee.  What’s in the bill, you ask?  Not a repeal of the ban on Sunday sales (that’s in a separate bill).  There are some other significant provisions in the bill and we describe them in more detail in the legal post Read more…

July 14, 2023 If you currently make and/or sell hemp-derived edibles containing THC pursuant to Minn. Stat. 151.72, you will not be able to operate under that law starting on March 1, 2025 (unless that date is changed). So the question becomes what do you need to continue to operate your business. Fortunately, while a Read more…

September 12, 2019 The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) must evaluate the ingredients and additives of certain wines, distilled spirits, and beers before the product can be made or imported, and before the importer or bottler may apply for a Certificate of Label Approval (COLA). When is TTB Formula Approval necessary? This Read more…

January 14, 2015 What happens when a brewery claims to own the trademark rights to a particular design for the phrase “IPA”?  Continue reading and find out. On January 12, Lagunitas Brewing Company filed a lawsuit against Sierra Nevada for trademark infringement.  Trademark disputes in the industry are common, but this one has resulted in Read more…