International Law

Dunkin's new CEO in a Christmas Mood?

Posted on December 11, 2008
Image via WikipediaFrom the Boston Globe, about the new CEO of Dunkin Donuts;Jim Coen, the acting president of the Dunkin' Donuts Independent Franchise Owners Group, said many of the franchisees were surprised by the appointment and had expected Will Kussell, the president and chief brand officer of Dunkin' Donuts Worldwide, to take the helm after Luther...

Bernard Madoff Charged: Admits Running a Massive Ponzi

Posted on December 11, 2008
Image via WikipediaFrom the Wall Street Journal, massive Ponzi scheme allegations."Bernard L. Madoff, the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities and a fixture of the Wall Street trading world for decades, was arrested Thursday morning by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and charged with criminal securities fraud by federal prosecutors in Manhattan...

The Risks of Risk management

Posted on December 11, 2008
Image via WikipediaPaul Wilmott has an instructive piece on why risk can mean much more than statistical risk."We have learned the hard way how important it is to measure and manage risk. Despite the thousands of mathematics and science PhDs working in risk management nowadays we seem to be at greater financial and economic risk than ever before...

When is Purified Water Really Tap Water?

Posted on December 10, 2008
Image by Getty Images via Daylife Consumer advertising laws are designed to inform consumers, but sometimes the results are very odd. Consider this interpretation about what "bottled water" is, from a recent class action against Pepsi's Aquafina"The plaintiff class alleged that graphics of a red and orange sun rising over snow-capped mountains and the slogan "Pure Water -- Perfect Taste" implied that the source of Aquafina was a mountain spring, rather than a municipal water tap...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Amway to invest in China

Posted on December 10, 2008
Image via WikipediaFrom China Daily about Amway's expansion:American direct selling giant Amway Corporation plans to expand its business in China next year, company head Douglas L. Devos said in Guangzhou on Monday. It will invest $15 million in the southern Guangdong Province, Amway's China headquarters, for the development of household products such as air and water purifiers, and kitchen appliances among others...

New Way to Communicate with the Franchised?

Posted on December 10, 2008
Image via CrunchBase, source unknownFrom Google BlogScoped:"Change.gov, website for US president-to-be Barack Obama's transition team, has added a way to ask questions and vote on questions... using the Google Moderator tool released to the public earlier this year (change...

USA Beverages Biz Op Fraud

Posted on December 10, 2008
Image via WikipediaFrom the Justice Department Press Release on the latest crackdown on business opportunity fraudsA U.S. citizen charged in connection with the operation of a series of fraudulent business opportunities was arrested yesterday in Costa Rica following his indictment by a Miami federal grand jury on Nov...

Odd News about the Franchised Car Dealers and Bailout

Posted on December 09, 2008
Image by Getty Images via DaylifeHere is some odd news concerning the forthcoming Big 3 Bailout, and the dealer franchisees."That's why an "Oversight Board" isn't enough. What's needed, under the aegis of the board, is a federal restructuring trustee who can lead car companies through a bankruptcy-type process if they opt for federal loans -- which Ford, alone among the Detroit Three, says it might not have to do...

Tim Horton's Class Action

Posted on December 09, 2008
Image by *annette* via FlickrInteresting problem in a franchisee class action against the franchisor Tim Hortons."The substance of the action is the erosion of franchisees' margins. The plaintiffs allege breaches of license agreements with the defendants ("TDL") as a result of the conversion from a scratch bake system to an Always Fresh system in or around 2002 and/or as a result of the introduction of an expanded lunch menu...

Are Groups of Franchisees Pathetic?

Posted on December 09, 2008
Image via WikipediaThe always stimulating Les Stewart has an interesting view on why independent franchisee associations are few and far between."The story coming out of Blue MauMau is that franchisees are the authors of their own misfortune in several dimensions...

What Can You Expect out of A Franchise System?

Posted on December 08, 2008
Image by &_yo via FlickrFuwa, the pseudonym of a well respected business consultant,  writing over at Blue Mau Mau, provides some much needed perspective on business format franchise systems and the "proven system" myth."People need to stop entertaining these fantasies that the sweeping vast majority of franchises offer them something that is worth the risk ensued - period...

Franchising and Proven Systems

Posted on December 08, 2008
Image by &_yo via FlickrThe franchisor trade association, the IFA, has an unintentionally ironic story on business format franchising."WHAT IS "BUSINESS FORMAT" FRANCHISING? In business format franchising, the franchisor prescribes for the franchisee a complete plan, or format, for managing and operating the establishment...

Marc S. Dreier Arrested for Fraud

Posted on December 08, 2008
Image via WikipediaFrom the SEC Press Release:On December 8, 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that New York attorney Marc S. Dreier engaged in an elaborate scheme, that violated the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and raised at least $113 million from the sale of bogus promissory notes...

Mystery Shopper Scam

Posted on December 05, 2008
Image via WikipediaFrom the FTC Press Release about Mystery Shopper ScamAn operation that lured consumers with promises that they could earn big money as trained and certified "mystery shoppers " has agreed to pay $850,000 to settle charges of deceptive marketing and contempt...

Sam Antar on Fraud

Posted on December 05, 2008
Image via WikipediaI happy to report that the Journal of Accountancy has recommend Sam Antar's blog on white collar fraud."Who knows fraud better than a fraudster? Sam E. Antar, former Crazy Eddie Inc. CFO and convicted felon, shares his views and advice on white collar crime, securities fraud, internal controls, Sarbanes-Oxley and more on his blog...

Obtaining Financial History

Posted on December 05, 2008
Image via WikipediaHeather, writing at franchise-chat, asks the all important question for franchise prospectives."Has anyone had issues with getting necessary financial info when looking into different franchises? One example was Subway. Someone just called me from there after I submitted a request...

How to Detect Nonsense

Posted on December 05, 2008
Bob Sutton, who I urge you to read, has a great and simple display of words that signal "bullshit". Ignore idiots who use these terms.Their use of this language betrays lack of thought, insight, and wisdom.

Nudging and Franchise Regulation

Posted on December 03, 2008
Image via WikipediaIt is very disappointing that Cass Sunstein's new book, Nudge, has nothing to add to the disclosure debate - whether more information about a franchise opportunity makes people more rational."They advocate the use of "choice architecture" by businesses or governments to influence choices in ways that encourage choosers to make decisions in their best interest...

Australian Franchising Code goes after Bullies

Posted on December 03, 2008
Image via WikipediaThe Australian Parilament heard but did not act upon some suggestions about how to regulate franchise relations."Bullies and rogues in the franchising industry have been targeted by changes in the Franchising Code of Conduct this week, but critics brand some of the recommendations as ''superficial...

Cold Stone Idiocy

Posted on December 03, 2008

IFA Opposes New Card Check Law

Posted on December 03, 2008
Image via WikipediaIn what is sure to be a controversial law, the IFA urged Congress to oppose the Card Check legislation."This legislation is not labor reform," David French, IFA vice president of Government Relations said in letters to every member of the House and Senate...

Franchise Fraud - The Myth of the Proven System

Posted on December 01, 2008
Image via WikipediaIn a typical misrepresententation about the franchise industry, the Canadian Franchise Association claims that franchises are replicating proven systems: The Canadian Franchising Association (CFA) has taken its show on the road. On Nov...

Important to Read Notes in a Franchisor's Financial Statements

Posted on December 01, 2008
Image via WikipediaRichard Solomon makes an excellent point about about how to figure if a franchisor is selling but not but not building out franchises."The AICPA accounting rules for franchisors call for segregation of revenue from initial franchise fees until the store is up and running...

What is Good Faith in Franchising?

Posted on December 01, 2008
Image via WikipediaPaul Steinberg over at at BMM asks about good faith in franchising:"Webster/Buchan/Spencer: when they speak of "good faith" they are dealing with a different concept than we are used to in the US.Here in the US "good faith" is a gap-filler and generally not an independent cause of action...

What is in a National Gift Card Program?

Posted on December 01, 2008
Image via WikipediaQSR reports about a new gift card program"Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (RMCF) is now implementing a national gift card program with optional credit/debit processing from integrated payments processor, Mercury Payment Systems. Mercury's recent technology integration to Retail Anywhere POS allowed RMCF franchisees to process card payments directly through their POS system, eliminating the need for third-party processing software and support...

Who am I?

Posted on November 29, 2008
Image via WikipediaSo who am I?"We think http://bizop.ca is written by a man (70%), who writes at the high school level  and is the logical and analytical type.Who is "especialy attuned to difficult creative and intellectual challenges and always look for something more complex to dig into...

Inside AdSense?

Posted on November 28, 2008
Interesting comment on the AdSense Blog:"AdSense has had a VERY negative impact on my advertising lately. Yes on Prop 8 ads have been showing up for our California readers - our largest audience. We are a gay and lesbian blog so an ad advocating for discrimination against gays and lesbians is obviously not going over well...

Thanksgiving Day: The Day After

Posted on November 28, 2008
Image via WikipediaJanet Sparks reminds us of a real American Hero, at Thanksgiving."Today marks the second anniversary of Bhupinder "Bob" Baber's tragic death, the day he walked into a Quiznos restaurant in California and shot himself three times. His desperate plea written in his suicide note was meant to be read by his family, the franchise community, the media and others, in hopes that the government would conduct an investigation into what he called "the systematic deceitful business practices of this franchisor...

Coaching Group a Franchise?

Posted on November 28, 2008
Image via WikipediaGood observation about the impact of the new Biz Op Rule."Sometime in the next 12 months, we expect the FTC will pass a totally new Business Opportunity Rule that will address business systems like we have been discussing that are not franchises...

The Simpsons and Franchising

Posted on November 28, 2008
Image via WikipediaLes Stewart, in an uncharacteristically upbeat mood, found a brilliant script from the Simpson's about franchising.Host [Discovery Day]: Now, folks, I don't wanna alarm ya, but scientists say forty percent of America's pictures... are hanging crooked...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.