If you ask for a definition of "franchise" in California law, there are at least three answers. Two are statutory and one is judicial. Corporations Code Section 31005 defines "franchise" for purposes of California's Franchise Investment Law. Further elaboration of the meaning of this definition can be found in Commissioner's Release 3-F. Another definition of "franchise" is found in Section 20001 of the Business and Professions Code. This definition applies to the Franchise Relations Act. Lastly, there is a judicial definition of the term:
“ ‘A franchise is a privilege conferred upon an individual or a corporation for use of a sovereign body's property.’ ” (Riverside County Transportation Com. v. Southern California Gas Co. (2020) 54 Cal.App.5th 823, 857.)
California Res. Prod. Corp. v. Antioch City Council, 2024 WL 4861645, at *2 (Cal. Ct. App. Nov. 19, 2024).
Given the original meaning of "franchise", the two statutory definitions are anomalous. In Middle English, "franchise" meant free or freedom. Geoffrey Chaucer, for example, wrote in The Merchant's Tale: "Heer may ye se how excellent franchyse". It entered English from the Old French verb franchir meaning to make free. The sense of freedom may perhaps be retained in the adjective "frank": someone who is frank speaks freely.
[View source.]
