Spain

Franchise regulation

Royal Decree 201/2010 of February 16th regulates the exercise of commercial activity on a franchise basis and there are laws and regulations that apply to certain aspects of franchising such as competition regulations.

Pre-contractual disclosure requirements

Royal Decree 201/2010 requires a franchisor to disclose franchisee-specific true and non-misleading information on the franchise, in writing, at least 20 days before execution of the franchise agreement or pre-agreement, or payment of any consideration by the prospective franchisee to the franchisor. Information to be disclosed includes information on the franchisor, the business sector, the IP of the franchisor, investment costs and details regarding the franchise agreement.

Although there is no need to provide the disclosure information in Spanish, it is often recommended that the relevant disclaimers in this regard are included in the disclosure document.

Registration

There is no requirement to register the franchise agreement or trademark licence.

Other issues

None

Difficulty Rating/Comments

Contact Lourdes Ayala - [email protected]