Underneath the Golden Boy - Robson Hall Faculty of Law

Franchise Legislation and Associations Around the World 379
Government where the franchisor has its head office; register franchise
cancellations as agreed upon by the Autonomous Government; administer
information about the different franchises to those interested; and register
franchisors without a head office in Spain, making all necessary changes to their
application. 121
The Decree was amended in 2006 by the Royal Decree 419/2006 of 7 April
in hopes of improving the registration system to allow potential franchisees to
obtain reasonable information and help them make an informed decision to
invest or not to invest. Furthermore, the amendments will allow the Registry to
better foster transparency in franchising and act more efficiently as an
informative body. 122 The new Decree introduces a more extensive definition of
“franchise,” and has included more detailed provisions for Articles 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
and 12. Thus, a franchisor coming to Spain ought to consider both the Royal
Decree of 1998 and of 2006, as the latter complements the former.
11. Sweden
Franchise legislation in Sweden was introduced in 2006, when Parliament passed
the Law on the Duty of a Franchisor to Provide Information (Law No.
2006:484). 123 As indicated by its title, the Law focuses on disclosure, addressing
issues pertaining to pre-contractual disclosure. The Law states that well before a
franchise agreement is entered into, a franchisor shall in writing give the
franchisee the information that is needed in consideration of the circumstances
with respect to the implications of the agreement and other conditions.
Moreover, the information shall be clear and understandable. It is important to
note that the Law does not give any indication of how long before the
conclusion of the contract disclosure must be made. 124
The disclosure document shall at least contain a description of the franchise
activity that the franchise is to run; information on other franchisees with which
the franchisor has concluded an agreement within the same franchise system and
the volume of their activity; information on the compensation that the
franchisee shall pay the franchisor and other economic conditions of the
franchise activity; information on the intellectual property rights that will be
121
See Spain, Royal Decree 2485/1998, supra note 119 at Article 6.
122
Spanish Franchise Association, “La Legislacion Española,” online: Legislacion Nacional y
Extranjera .
123
CCH (Legal Information and Workflow Solutions), “Antitrust and Trade Regulation Update,
October 2006,” online:
124
Government Offices of Sweden, “Legislation and Regulations Relevant to Franchising,” online:
Swedish Statutes in Translation – Business and Finance