topics.pretitle
Franchise
The Franchise Act ensures balance with regard to the interests of the franchisor and franchisee.
Franchising is of significant importance to the Dutch economy. It is prevalent across various sectors, including retail, services, and healthcare. Furthermore, franchising manifests in numerous forms, ranging from soft franchising—where the franchisee enjoys considerable autonomy within the franchise framework—to hard franchising, which offers the franchisee far less freedom. Until the beginning of this year, there were no specific legal provisions for franchising. In previous articles, we have already informed you about the Franchise Act. As of now, the Franchise Act took effect on January 1, 2021.
The Objective
Naturally, there is an inherent imbalance of power in favor of the franchisor compared to the franchisee. This imbalance stems from the franchisor's position as the holder of the franchise formula. In practice, it has been observed that the way the franchisor exercises this power can lead to unreasonable and undesirable situations for the franchisee. The new Franchise Act aims to strengthen the position of franchisees.
The Scope of Application
The Franchise Act applies to all types of franchising regardless of the classification that the parties themselves assign to their collaboration. The law does not differentiate between 'hard franchise' and 'soft franchise'.
The Content
Broadly, the Franchise Act encompasses rules concerning four distinct areas.
question
Linda Relouw
- Commercial Contracts
- Corporate & Commercial Litigation
our.people