A lively William Whipple joined Maine franchise Owners, and legislators from all across the state to read the Universal Franchisee Bill of Rights (UFBOR) on Wednesday, January 29th at the Senator Inn in Augusta.
Whipple was born January 14, 1730 in Kittery, Maine. By the late 1750’s, he was heavily involved in the Patriot movement, and in 1775 he was elected to represent his town at the provincial congress. The following year New Hampshire dissolved the Royal government and reorganized with a House of Representatives and an Executive Council. Whipple was made a Council member, a member of the Committee of Safety, and was immediately elected to the Continental Congress where he served until 1779. In 1777 he was made Brigadier General of the New Hampshire Militia, and led men in the successful expedition against General Burgoyne at the battles of Stillwater and Saratoga. After the war, Whipple was appointed as associate justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire. In 1785 he died of a heart ailment.
On July 4, 1776, The United States Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress. Whipple was one of 56 different men who signed this document declaring independence from Great Britain. With the amount of courage and thoughtfulness Whipple had in his 55 years of life, who better to read the UFBOR than him?
The goal of the UFBOR is to highlight the imbalance in the relationship between franchisees and the franchisors because of onerous franchise agreements. There are 12 amendments that make up the UFBOR that include Freedom of Association, Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Uniform Application of Brand Standards, Full Disclosure Regarding Fees Collected From Franchisees, Right to Price, Fair Sourcing of Goods and Services, Right to Renew the Franchise, Right to Transfer, Encroachment, Ample Notice of Significant Change; Franchisee Termination Rights, Default; Franchise Termination Rights, and Fairness in Dispute Resolution.