Franchise is the type of business where one uses the secrets of another company, uses their copyrights etc and open the same business. The items are offered to the franchisees for a sum or price by the franchisors. To the general public these franchises might seem just like the established business, but it is run by a local businessman.

The law related to franchise is the law that is related to the making, operating and the ending of the franchise. This branch of law contains all those rules and regulations that one must follow at all government levels in order to enter relationships of franchise. This branch helps the lawyers help comply with franchise law. (the grantor of the licence is called franchisor and the grantee is franchisee). Franchise can be with respect to the existing business or the new business.

In India, there is no specific legislation that governs the law of franchise. But, however, in the Chapter 5 of the Finance Act, 1999, franchise has been defined as ‘an agreement by which the franchisee is granted representational right to see or manufacture goods or to provide service or to under take any process identified with the franchisor, whether or not a trademark, service mark, trade name or logo or any such symbol, as the case may be, involved.’

As India, at the present does not have any legislation to deal with the law of franchise. Hence, there are other allied legislation that deal with franchise such the Indian Contract Act, 1872, Intellectual Property Law, Competition Act,2002, etc.

Many franchises have been signed and opened in India, but with no proper legislation, and nothing to govern, there can be a lot of mishaps and misuses. Hence, a proper franchise law must be brought into place and regulated to govern the franchises in India.