Franchise Agreement
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The following is a copy of our most recent franchise agreement. This agreement appears here for informational purposes only, and it is subject to change. To become effective, a printed copy of an actual franchisee agreement must be signed by both parties.

ELP Publishing Partnership Franchise Agreement

1. Parties: This agreement is made between Enduring Legacy Press (herein referred to as ELP) and _________________________ (herein referred to as the Publishing Partner or as the Franchisee).

The following ELP Publishing Partner / Franchisee made this referral: _______________________________

2. Territory: This agreement pertains to the right to produce and sell ELP publications within the following territory: 



3. Franchise Rights: Franchisee is granted the exclusive right to sell ELP books, products, and services to all schools, locally-owned businesses, local non-profit organizations, historical societies, and other organizations that reside within the above-mentioned territory; the above-described territory does not include any colleges or universities located with the above-described geographical region unless that college or university is specifically mentioned. The sale of ELP services or products to individuals or to publicly-owned companies is granted to the Franchisee on a non-exclusive basis.

4. Franchise Fee: $1.00.

5. Other Requirements of the Franchisee: 

1. High moral character;
2. Operation of the Franchise in accordance with ELP policies, procedures, and pricing models;
3. Maintaining a minimum level of book sales in the Franchisee's above-described territory; (see number 11. below);  
4. Accurate financial record keeping and reporting in accordance with standards and methods approved by ELP; 
5. Accurate, timely handling of customer funds;
6. Maintaining acceptable levels of customer service;

ELP retains the sole right to approve new Franchisees.

6. ELP Services: ELP agrees to use reasonable efforts to provide services and products to its Franchisees; the exact nature, timing, and quality of those services and products is determined solely by ELP; these products and services include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. To provide access to the ELP business model and business plan, as well as to ELP books, content, and services;
2. To maintain an Internet page for the Franchisee's community;
3. To create downloadable sales and management tools (as deemed appropriate by ELP);
4. To provide standardized content (including artwork) for various ELP books;
5. To enlist and manage the services of various third-party printers and service providers;
6. To track and to pay fees occurring from the sale of books generated and sold by the Franchisee’s Level 1 and Level 2 Sub-franchisees (Sub-franchisees are defined elsewhere in this agreement). Referral fees are based upon cash receipts received by ELP and will be paid to Level 1 and Level 2 Sponsors in a timely manner after such receipts have been received and deposited by ELP.

7. Sharing Arrangement : When ELP books are sold by the Franchisee, ELP will receive royalty payments from the Franchisee based upon a schedule described as the Sharing Arrangement.  This schedule will be posted on the ELP Partners web site. Based upon this schedule, ELP will also make appropriate referral payments to Level 1 and Level 2 Sponsors. This Sharing Arrangement may, from time to time, be modified by ELP so long as those modifications apply equally to all ELP Publishing Partners. Modifications in the Sharing Arrangement, if any, will be announced on the ELP Partners web site during the month of December of each year. New products and services may be added to this schedule throughout the year.

7a. Products and Services Not Subject to Referral Payments: In a few cases, ELP may provide certain services which are anticipated to be utilized infrequently and in small quantities (for example: reprints of out-of-date books). In such cases, the products and services may be excluded from the referral payments that are normally paid to Level 1 and Level 2 Sponsors; these types of products and services will be noted in the Sharing Arrangement.

8. Definition of Level 1 and Level 2 Recruits: Level 1 Recruit: a person (or corporation) who is recruited by a Franchisee (i. e. Sponsor), who is approved by ELP, and who becomes an ELP Publishing Partner; Level 2 Recruit: a Publishing Partner who has been recruited by a Franchisee's Level 1 Recruit, who has been approved by ELP, and who becomes an ELP Publishing Partner. ELP retains the sole and exclusive right to determine the suitability of prospective Franchisees; in other words, ELP retains the sole and exclusive right to approve new Franchisees using criteria that ELP deems appropriate.

9. Referral Payments: Referring Franchisees (i.e. a Level 1 or Level 2 Sponsor) are entitled to certain payments based upon the revenues generated by Level 1 Recruits and Level 2 Recruits. The amounts and percentages of said payments are calculated by ELP; payments are based upon cash receipts paid to ELP by the Level 1 or Level 2 Recruits; the calculation of referral payments are based upon the most current Sharing Arrangement. At the time a Publishing Partner's application is accepted, the referring Franchisee will be agreed upon and assigned by ELP. Any disputes concerning the person or persons who actually referred a new Franchisee will be resolved by ELP at its sole discretion. If a Level-1 or Level-2 Recruit's Franchise Rights are terminated for any reason, Referral Payments are also terminated immediately. The Level 1 and Level 2 Sponsors for this Franchise Agreement are as follows:

                Level 1 Sponsor: _________________________________________

                Level 2 Sponsor: _________________________________________

ELP may, at its sole discretion, waive some or all of the payments that are due from the Franchisee on a particular printing (see #22 below): when ELP waives its fees, either in partially or in total, the payments to Level 1 and Level 2 Sponsors are also deemed to be waived pro-rata; in other words, when ELP agrees to modify its payments from Franchisee, the fees payed to Level 1 and Level 2 Sponsors are modified by the same percentage..   

10. Additional Territories: Franchisee may refer himself or herself for additional territories. After 120 days of operating a Franchise, a Franchisee may apply for an additional territory or territories. In such cases, the Franchisee himself or herself will be considered to be his or her own Level 1-Recruit. ELP retains the sole right to approve new Franchisees.

11. Minimum Number of ELP Books Sold: In order to maintain his or her Franchise Rights to the above-described territory, Franchisee must sell a minimum number of ELP books on which standard royalties are paid in accordance with the Sharing Arrangement which is described in #7 above. The Franchisee's Minimum Number of Books Sold is as follows:

        First 6 Months:    _____________
        First 12 Months:  _____________ 
        Months 13-24:     _____________ 

After the conclusion of the 24th month, the Minimum Number of ELP books sold in order to maintain Franchise Rights to the above-described territory will increased at the rate of 5% per year.

A Note About Future Categories of Products: ELP may, from time to time, add additional categories of products which have different royalty payments from those described in the current Sharing Arrangement. In the event new categories of products are introduced by ELP, the Franchisee is not required to sell those products in order to maintain his or her Franchise Rights; however, ELP may, at its discretion, allow the Franchisee to apply the sale of any to-be-announced categories of products in the calculation of the Minimum Number of ELP Books Sold described above. Details of any new categories of products will be announced on ELP's Partners Web Page.

12. Costs of Printing and Other Production-related Services Are Subject to Change: The actual printing, production, and shipping costs of a particular book are described in approximate terms on ELP's web page (these printing and production costs are the actual "hard costs" of producing a book). These printing and production costs are over and above the costs described above in the Sharing Arrangement. Printing, production, and shipping costs are subject to change (either by ELP or by its subcontractors) without notice.

13. Termination of This Agreement by Franchisee: Termination of this agreement by the Franchisee is made by giving notice to ELP; there is no penalty for such termination; in the event a Franchisee terminates this agreement while ELP book projects are still in progress, ELP reserves the right to complete any of those unfinished ELP projects, but ELP is not obligated to do so; in the event ELP completes books on behalf of a terminating Franchisee, ELP retains the right to retain some or all of the revenues that are derived from the unfinished project (or projects) in order to offset expenses related to the completion of that project (or projects).

14. Termination of This Agreement by ELP: ELP may terminate this Agreement for any of the following reasons:

  1. Failure by Franchisee to pay, in a timely manner, for services or products provided by ELP or by ELP-related suppliers; or
  2. Misappropriation of funds by the Franchisee; or
  3. Misrepresentation of the products and services provided by ELP; or
  4. Behavior by the franchisee that is, in the sole discretion of ELP, deemed morally inappropriate, negligent, felonious, or otherwise unbecoming; or
  5. Failure by the Franchisee to maintain a level of quality and service that is considered acceptable by ELP; or
  6. Franchisee's failure to comply with the provisions of this Agreement; or
  7. The failure by the Franchisee to sell the Minimum Number of ELP Books as described in this agreement; or
  8. ELP's decision to cease operations.

In the event of failure to pay as described in section A. above (failure to pay in a timely manner), ELP retains the right of offset against Referral Payments or any other fees that may be payable to the Franchisee. 

The termination of a Franchisee's rights pertaining to to one territory does not necessarily result in the termination of the Franchisee's rights in other ELP territories.

15. Record Keeping: Both parties agree to maintain adequate financial records of all transactions related to ELP business.

16. Best Efforts by ELP: ELP will use its best efforts to provide products and services to its Franchisees, but the nature, the timing, and quality of those services cannot be guaranteed by ELP.

17. Reprint fees: Occasionally, ELP books may be reprinted, in part or in whole, by ELP or by the current Franchisee of the territory for which the book was originally created. When one party reprints a book, that party will pay to the other party a fee of one dollar per book. Such payments are made no later than 30 days following the the end of each calendar year. When a Franchisee's rights are terminated under this agreement, the right to reprint ELP books is also terminated. When a Franchise is sold under the terms of this agreement, the rights to receive Reprint fees is automatically transferred to the purchasing Franchisee. Reprint books are not included in the calculation of "Minimum Number of ELP Books Sold" as described in this agreement, and, as such, are not subject to sharing arrangements with Referring Franchisees.

18. ELP Web Pages: ELP will maintain a web page for the Franchisee's community. All web pages and their contents are deemed to be owned by ELP. ELP shall bear the cost of maintaining and updating these pages. Franchisees will be expected to contribute a portion of the content that is related to their community's web page. 

19. Franchisee's Agreement to Use ELP Services for "Hybrid" Books: The Franchisee is free to engage in editing and publishing activities that are not related to or sponsored by ELP; the Franchisee does agree to use ELP as the Franchisee's exclusive provider for "hybrid" books. Hybrid books are defined as books that are composed of both local content (to be provided by the Franchisee) and standardized content (to be provided by ELP). In the event that this Franchise Agreement is terminated for any reason, Franchisee agrees to refrain, for a period of 90 days from the date of termination, from selling, marketing, or promoting any "hybrid" books that compete with currently-published ELP books.

20. Territory Descriptions: ELP will use its best efforts to assign discrete territories to its franchisees. However, ELP, at its sole discretion, retains the right to determine the exact geographical boundaries (and other descriptive characteristics) of all its territories, including the above-described territory. 

21. Franchisee Is an Independent Party: It is mutually agreed that the Franchisee is an independent owner-operator of an ELP Franchise for the above-described territory. Under no circumstances is the Franchisee (or employees of the Franchisee, if any) deemed to be an employee of ELP; Franchisee is responsible for paying appropriate local and federal taxes, for filing tax returns for his or her Franchise, and for obtaining local business licenses, if any are required. Franchisee agrees to hold himself or herself out to the general public as an independent contractor, not as an employee of ELP. In the event Franchisee enters into business contracts of any type, either written or oral, it is mutually understood and agreed that the Franchisee does so independently of ELP and that the Franchisee has no right to enter into contracts on behalf of ELP. 

The Franchisee will agree to create a unique business name that includes the words "Enduring Legacy Press." For example: "Enduring Legacy Press of Fairbanks, Alaska, Jim Smith, Publisher." Such name will be subject to approval by ELP.

22. ELP May Waive Payments That Are Due From Franchisee: ELP may, at its sole discretion, waive, either in part or in total, fees that would otherwise be due from Franchisee. Such waivers are made on a case-by-case basis, and a single waiver of payments due to ELP does not imply an agreement to waive such fees in the future. When ELP waives a payment due from any Franchisee, Referral Payments (as described in #9 above) are also deemed to be waived; in other words, when ELP waives its fees, then the fees that otherwise would have been payable to Level 1 and Level 2 are also deemed to be waived on a pro rata basis. As an example: if ELP agrees to waive 50% of its fees in a particular instance, then referral fees to Level 1 and Level 2 Sponsors are also to be decreased by 50%.

23. Transferability for Franchises: The franchise rights and obligations for the territory described in this agreement are transferable by the franchisee by sale, by gift, or by bequest to a third party whose experience, integrity, and moral character are deemed to be acceptable by ELP; such approval must be granted in writing by ELP and will not be unreasonably withheld. If a Franchise is transferred, new Franchisees (i.e. transferees) are subject to the provisions of this agreement.

24. Transferability of Referral Fees: The right to receive income from Level 1 or Level 2 Recruits is also transferable by sale, by gift, or by bequest; a transfer fee for the sale of this right may be charged by ELP; such fee will not exceed 2% of the total estimated value of the transaction.

25. Disputes Concerning the Interpretation of This Agreement Are To Be Settled by Arbitration: It is mutually agreed by ELP and by Franchisee that in the event disputes arise concerning the terms, conditions, rights, or obligations of this agreement, those disputes will not be litigated in court but instead will be mediated and settled by binding arbitration. The arbitrator for such proceedings will be an impartial third party selected by ELP; the costs and hourly fees associated with any arbitration proceedings be paid equally by ELP and Franchisee; those costs will be clearly spelled out prior to the beginning of the arbitration proceedings.

By Franchisee:

Signed: _____________________ Date: __________________

Witnessed: ______________________

By ELP:

Signed: _____________________ Date: __________________

Witnessed: ______________________


NOTE: This Franchise Agreement contains the following two Exhibits which are part of the Agreement:

  1. A Glossary of Terms
  2. Sharing Arrangement