Basically yes! It is way of doing business, a set of processes and procedures with an identifiable logo or mark that is licensed out to people. This is not in itself unique nor is the idea behind it.
In a recent court case, the F45 fitness franchise tried to sue another operator for ‘infringing their patent’ of how they operate their business. It was turned down by the Australian court as not only did the other operator, Body Fit Training, not infringe on a patent, the actual thing was not patentable any way!
Why did the Judge Rule Invalid?
Joint CEOs of BFT, Cameron Falloon and Richard Burnet, said:
”The Federal Court has determined that both of F45’s innovation patents are invalid and that – even if those patents had been valid – BFT did not infringe them in any event."
F45’s two patents were registered under different numbers; however, they were both recorded as being for “The remote configuration and operation of fitness studios from a central server.”
Basically, the software that F45 thought was patentable was not as it utilised generic software which was managing communication to the studios and screens in the studio. However this is not unique or patentable.
What is a Patent
You can use a patent to protect an invention. This patent must be applied for and in the UK the Intellectual Property Office will decide whether to grant the patent. Many organisations patent their logos but not their ways of doing business as this does not qualify.
To be granted a patent, your invention must be all of the following:
· something that can be made or used
· new
· inventive - not just a simple modification to something that already exists
You cannot patent certain types of invention, including:
· literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works
· a way of doing business, playing a game or thinking
· a method of medical treatment or diagnosis
· a discovery, scientific theory or mathematical method
· the way information is presented
· some computer programs or mobile apps
· ‘essentially biological’ processes like crossing-breeding plants, and plant or animal varieties
Investing in a Franchise
When you buy a Master Franchise what are you buying? As mentioned in the first paragraph above it is owning a licence to sell a way of doing business with a logo and set of products and values, processes and procedures. The people that buy the licence become franchisees and generallly pay a monthly fee to run the franchise as their own business. The main advantage of a franchise is that the product is tested and there are tried and tested methods for marketing, selling and operating. Could it be copied? Well, yes as the F45 case shows, it probably could and this is where your assessemnt of the unique selling point of the product or service has to be crystal clear.
RISE Fitness Franchise
We invested in the RISE Fitness Master Franchise when we saw the opportunity for fitness in the outdoor space exapnd rapidly during the pandemic. The indoor sector had premises close and then constraints applied in the aftermath, this led us to beleive that outdoor fitness would grow and become a major and permanent feature of the UK fitness scene. Our experience in this sector made this opportunity very attractive.
The idea combined outdoor bootcamp with digital delivery plus had wearable tech at the core of the product. Not only will it attract people to get fit outside but they will see that the tech will help educate and motivate them to get more active more of the time. Gyms will always be there, but more people felt a real lift in being outside and it is a great combination to get your exercise done while enjoying fresh air.
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