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The Â鶹´«Ã½ Trade Commission will host a public conference/workshop to review provisions of the FTC's Franchise Rule, September 12-14 at the Crown Sterling Suites in Bloomington, Minnesota. Workshop panelists will discuss various topics, including whether there is a continuing need for the Franchise Rule, whether and how the rule should be modified, and the impact of new technologies on the marketing of franchises. The conference will be open to the public.

The FTC Franchise Rule requires a franchisor to provide prospective franchisees with a complete and accurate basic disclosure statement containing 20 categories of information, including information about the history of the franchisor, its litigation history, the financial condition of the franchise, the terms and conditions under which the franchise operates, as well as information about other franchisees. If a franchisor chooses to make earnings claims, the rule requires the franchisor to have a reasonable basis for those claims and also to provide a document to potential franchisees containing that substantiation.

In April, the FTC announced that it was reviewing the rule and asked for public comment. Panelists for the workshop were selected from the individuals and organizations that commented on the rule, including franchisors, franchisees, franchise attorneys, trade show promoters, marketing associations and government agencies.

The workshop/conference is designed to provide FTC staff and other interested parties the opportunity to discuss the issues raised during the rule review. The results will be used by the staff to formulate recommendations to the Commission about modifications to the current rule.

Copies of the Franchise Rule and the Â鶹´«Ã½ Register Notice requesting comments on the Rule are available from the FTCs Public Reference Branch, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-326-2222; TTY for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710. FTC news releases and other materials also are available on the Internet at the FTC's World Wide Web site at: http://www.ftc.gov

(FTC File No. P954402)