Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern access to and use of franchisefactbook.com (the "Site"), operated by Direct PM Systems Inc. ("Direct PM Systems Inc.", "we", "us"). By accessing or using the Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not access or use the Site.

Franchise Factbook is an independent research tool that presents facts sourced from franchisors' own Franchise Disclosure Documents and Canadian franchise directory listings, with sources linked on every page. We are not a broker, franchisor, or lead-generation network, and nothing on the Site constitutes investment, legal, accounting, or financial advice. Read the underlying disclosure document with an attorney before signing anything — see our methodology.

Data is extracted from filings and directory sources believed reliable, but franchise terms change and extraction can contain errors. The Site is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including accuracy, completeness, or fitness for a particular purpose. Verify any figure against the franchisor's current filing before relying on it.

The Site's design, text, computed scores, rankings, and original commentary are owned by Direct PM Systems Inc. or its licensors and protected by copyright and other laws. Brand names, logos, and trademarks referenced on the Site belong to their respective owners; their appearance here is for identification and comparison only and does not imply endorsement, affiliation, or sponsorship unless a page is explicitly labeled otherwise.

Except as expressly permitted in this section or under a separate written agreement signed by Direct PM Systems Inc., you may not access, query, crawl, index, scrape, or otherwise extract data from the Site through any automated means — including bots, spiders, crawlers, scrapers, data-mining tools, or AI systems used for training, retrieval-augmented generation, or bulk dataset construction ("Automated Access"). This applies regardless of whether the Automated Access is for commercial use, research, model training, republication, or any other purpose.

Permitted automated access.This restriction does not apply to: (a) general-purpose search-engine crawlers indexing the Site to return it in search results; or (b) the AI answer-engine and assistant crawlers this Site's robots.txtexplicitly names and allows, so that those services may read and cite the Site's content — provided that in both cases the crawler identifies itself accurately and complies with robots.txt. A crawler that spoofs the identity of a permitted crawler, ignores robots.txt directives, or is used to bulk-copy or republish the Site's dataset rather than to index or cite individual pages falls outside this exception and is Automated Access under this section.

Fee for unauthorized Automated Access. Any party that engages in, directs, or knowingly permits unauthorized Automated Access to the Site agrees to pay Direct PM Systems Inc. USD $200 per instance, where an "instance" means each individual page request, session, or data-extraction event attributable to that Automated Access. Direct PM Systems Inc. may invoice the operator of the automated system, the party on whose behalf it was operated, or both. By causing or permitting unauthorized Automated Access to the Site, the responsible party accepts and agrees to this fee, unless that party has obtained a waiver in writing, signed by Direct PM Systems Inc., prior to accessing the Site by automated means. This fee is in addition to, and does not limit, Direct PM Systems Inc.'s other rights and remedies at law.

Beyond the automated-access restriction above, you agree not to: interfere with or disrupt the Site's operation; attempt to gain unauthorized access to any account, system, or data; misrepresent your identity or affiliation; or use the Site to build a competing directory or dataset from its content without a written agreement.

The Site links to franchisors' own websites and, in places marked SPONSORED, to paid placements — see our sponsorship policy. We do not control and are not responsible for the content, accuracy, or practices of any third-party site.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Direct PM Systems Inc. will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits or revenue, arising from your access to or use of, or inability to access or use, the Site, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

You agree to indemnify and hold Direct PM Systems Inc. harmless from any claim, liability, damages, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your violation of these Terms or your unauthorized Automated Access to the Site.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in Toronto, Ontario for any dispute arising from these Terms or the Site.

We may update these Terms from time to time; the effective date above reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the Site after a change constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

Direct PM Systems Inc.
100 University Ave, 5th Floor, Toronto, ON M5J 2Y1, Canada

Questions about these Terms, or requests for a written waiver under Section 5, can be sent via our contact form.