Business Entities & Arrangements

GENERAL OVERVIEW

• You may have already had the experience of working for someone - a firm or company - as an “employee”.
• But, at some point, you may decide to work on your account, independently, and have your own business. It may be a sole proprietorship and the goods or services provided could be snow removal or custom software.
• On the other hand, you may decide to join forces with one or more business-minded individuals and form a partnership with a view to making a profit. 
• You also have the option of doing business through a corporate entity – that is, you create a company – Dinkee-Do-Everything Limited, for example. 
• An individual can create a company and be its only owner (shareholder), director, and officer.
• Municipal and provincial or federal statutes, and rules and guidelines of professional associations or societies may restrict your business goals or activities, and these must be thoroughly researched to ensure all actions are lawful and within requirements or guidelines.

Recent  Relevant  Caselaw  re Business Name: Bhagwani incorporated a company called “Bombay Frankie Inc.”; registered a domain name with “bombay-frankie” in it; and operated two restaurants under the name “Bombay Frankie”. (“Frankie” is a type of Indian street food snack.) 

The Ontario number company, 2788610, then applied to register the trademark “Bombay Frankies” and tried to stop Bhagwani (using an interlocutory injunction) from using “Bombay Frankie” but it was ultimately unsuccessful in those proceedings. Find the exact particulars in 2022 ONSC 6098 (CanLII) | 2788610 Ontario Inc. v. Bhagwani | CanLII.

Caution: Legal information is not legal advice.

This website merely provides a general guide to the subject matter.

New and interesting information will be periodically added on this topic.

Please visit us at our alternate website: https://www.fera-gasparini.ca/ for additional introductory information and also to have a quick look inside our new book on 

Canadian Law and Business Studies: https://bit.ly/3Ay0lSR.

This book contains a full chapter on "Business Entities and Arrangements".

What is a franchise?  A “franchise” means a right to engage in a business where the franchisee (that deals with the consumer) is required by contract to make a payment or continuing payments to the franchisor in the course of operating the business or as a condition of acquiring the franchise. Tim Hortons, Pizza Pizza and Boston Pizza locations are owned by franchisees within a franchise arrangement. Each Canadian Tire store is owned by a franchisee. In a franchise, the franchisor, grants the franchisee the representational or distribution rights - including, perhaps, a trade-mark, trade name, logo or other commercial symbol - to sell or distribute goods or services supplied by the franchisor. The franchisor provides location and set-up assistance including securing retail outlets or it provides sites for vending machines, display racks or other product displays used by the franchisee.

What is the Wishart Act? Or what is the Arthur Wishart Act? It is an Ontario provincial legislation named after a lawyer who was elected as MPP and who became Minister of Financial and Consumer Affairs. Mr. Wishart was active in developing legislation to protect the franchisee. Unless full and proper disclosures are made by the franchisor, the franchisee can rescind the franchise agreement and claim any losses incurred against the franchisor.