[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 170 (Thursday, September 2, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53661-53662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-19969]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 436


Trade Regulation Rule on Disclosure Requirements and Prohibitions 
Concerning Franchising and Business Opportunity Ventures

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice announcing publication of Staff Report on the Franchise 
Rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'') announces the 
publication of the Staff Report on the Franchise Rule. The Staff Report 
sets forth the staff's recommendations to the Commission on the various 
proposed amendments to the Franchise Rule.

DATES: Comments on the Staff Report must be submitted on or before 
November 12, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on 
the Staff Report. Comments should refer to ``Franchise Rule Staff 
Report, R511003'' to facilitate the organization of comments. A comment 
filed in paper form should include this reference both in the text and 
on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the following 
address: Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-159 
(Annex W), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. If the 
comment contains any material for which confidential treatment is 
requested, it must be filed in paper form, and the first page of the 
document must be clearly labeled ``Confidential.'' The FTC is 
requesting that any comment filed in paper form be sent by courier or 
overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the 
Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security precautions. Comments can be filed in electronic 
form by clicking on the following weblink: https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-franchisereport/ and following the 
instructions on the web-based form. To ensure that the Commission 
considers an electronic comment, you must file it on the web-based form 
at the https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-franchisereport/ weblink. If 
this notice

[[Page 53662]]

appears at http://www.regulations.gov, you may also file an electronic 
comment through that Web site. The Commission will consider all 
comments that regulations.gov forwards to it. You may also visit the 
FTC Web site at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/08/franchiserule.htm to 
read the Staff Report and the news release describing it, and the FTC 
Web site at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/10/franchise-review3.htm to 
read the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and the news release describing 
this proposed Rule.
    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments, whether filed 
in paper or electronic form, will be considered by the Commission, and 
will be available to the public on the FTC Web site, to the extent 
practicable, at http://www.ftc.gov. As a matter of discretion, the FTC 
makes every effort to remove home contact information for individuals 
from the public comments it receives before placing those comments on 
the FTC Web site. More information, including routine uses permitted by 
the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Toporoff, (202) 326-3135, 
Division of Marketing Practices, Room H-238, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 
Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Franchise Rule requires the pre-sale 
disclosure of material information to prospective franchisees about the 
franchisor, the franchised business, and the terms and conditions that 
govern the franchise relationship. The Commission has engaged in an 
ongoing effort to amend the Franchise Rule, starting with a review of 
the Franchise Rule in 1995,\1\ followed by the publication of an 
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 1997,\2\ and the publication 
of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 1999.\3\
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    \1\ 60 FR 17656 (Apr. 7, 1995).
    \2\ 62 FR 9115 (Feb. 28, 1997).
    \3\ 64 FR 57294 (Oct. 22, 1999).
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    Pursuant to the Commission's Rules of Practice, and the rulemaking 
procedures specified earlier in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the 
Commission now announces the availability of the Staff Report on the 
Franchise Rule. The Staff Report summarizes the rulemaking record to 
date, analyzes the various alternatives, and sets forth the staff's 
recommendations to the Commission on the revised Rule. The Staff Report 
has not been reviewed or adopted by the Commission. The Staff Report is 
available from the Commission's Public Reference Room, Room H-130, 
Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20580. It is also available on the FTC's Web site, at http://www.ftc.gov, by searching on the phrase (with quotation marks): ``Staff 
Report + Franchise''.
    The Commission invites interested parties to submit written data, 
views, and arguments on the recommendations announced in the Staff 
Report, by following the instructions in the ADDRESSES section of this 
Notice. Comments, however, are to be limited to those matters that are 
already part of the rulemaking record. Further, comments previously 
submitted in the ongoing rulemaking procedure are already part of the 
rulemaking record and need not be repeated. Written communications and 
summaries or transcripts of any oral communications respecting the 
merits of this proceeding from any outside party to any Commissioner or 
Commissioner's advisor will also be placed on the public record. See 16 
CFR 1.26(b)(5).
    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments, whether filed 
in paper or electronic form, will be considered by the Commission, and 
will be available to the public on the FTC Web site, to the extent 
practicable, at http://www.ftc.gov. As a matter of discretion, the FTC 
makes every effort to remove home contact information for individuals 
from the public comments it receives before placing those comments on 
the FTC Web site. More information, including routine uses permitted by 
the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.
    Upon the completion of the comment period, the staff will make 
final recommendations to the Commission about the Rule. Assuming the 
Commission adopts the proposed revised Rule, it will publish another 
Federal Register notice in the future with the final text of the 
revised Rule, a Statement of Basis and Purpose on the Rule, and an 
announcement of when the revised Rule will become effective.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 436

    Advertising, Business and industry, Franchising, Trade practices.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 41-58.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-19969 Filed 9-1-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P