As a franchised business, we are subject to the FTC Franchise Rule, which is a trade regulation imposed on franchising promulgated by the FTC that regulates the offer and sale of franchises in the United States and that requires us to provide to all prospective franchisees certain mandatory disclosure in an FDD. In addition, we are subject to state franchise registration and disclosure laws in a number of states that regulate the offer and sale of franchises by requiring us, unless otherwise exempt, to register our franchise offering in those states prior to our making any offer or sale of a franchise in those states and to provide an FDD to prospective franchisees in accordance with such laws. States requiring franchise registration include, but are not limited to, California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Hawaii and Washington. We are also subject to franchise registration and disclosure laws in other countries in which we operate, including Australia, Canada, China, France, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Caledonia, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and the United States, that regulate the offer and sale of franchises by requiring us, unless otherwise exempt, to register a franchise disclosure document in a prescribed format and to provide that franchise disclosure document to prospective franchisees, in accordance with such laws, and that regulate certain aspects of the franchise relationship. We are currently subject to similar laws in other countries in which we currently offer franchises, and we may also become subject to laws in additional countries in the future. We are not currently, and in the past we have not been, in compliance with certain applicable franchise registration and disclosure laws in certain jurisdictions. Further, as we expand into new markets outside of our more significant markets of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore, we may have limited knowledge of local franchise laws and regulations and may take time to apprise ourselves of such laws and regulations. Failure to comply with applicable franchise registration and disclosure laws may result in being prohibited from selling in that geography, a franchisee's right to rescind its franchise agreement and damages, pursuant to the terms of its franchise agreement, and may result in investigations or actions from federal, state or local franchise authorities, civil fines or penalties and stop orders, among other remedies.
We are also subject to franchise relationship laws in a number of jurisdictions that regulate many aspects of the franchise relationship including, depending upon the jurisdiction, renewals and terminations of franchise agreements, franchise transfers, the applicable law and venue in which franchise disputes may be resolved, discrimination and franchisees' right to associate, among others. Our failure to comply with such franchise relationship laws could result in fines, damages and our inability to enforce franchise agreements where we have violated such laws. Any non-compliance on our part could result in liability to franchisees and regulatory authorities, inability to enforce our franchise agreements and a reduction in our anticipated franchise fee revenue, which in turn may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We and our franchisees are also subject to the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, and various other laws in the United States, Canada, Australia and other foreign jurisdictions governing such matters as minimum-wage requirements, overtime and other working conditions. A number of our franchisees' employees may be paid at rates related to the U.S. federal or state minimum wage, and the U.S. federal and/or state minimum wage may increase. Any increases in labor costs might result in our franchisees inadequately staffing studios. In addition, such increases in labor costs and other changes in labor laws could affect studio performance and quality of service, decrease franchise fee revenue and adversely affect our brand.
We and our franchisees' operations and properties are subject to extensive federal, international, state, provincial and local laws and regulations, including those relating to environmental, building and zoning requirements. Failure to comply with these legal requirements could result in, among other things,revocation of required licenses, administrative enforcement actions, fines and civil and criminal liability, which could materially and adversely affect our business.
We and our franchisees are responsible for compliance with applicable laws that regulate the relationship between studios and their members. Many jurisdictions have consumer protection regulations that may limit the collection of membership dues or fees prior to opening, require certain disclosures of pricing information, mandate the maximum length of contracts and "cooling off" periods for members (after the purchase of a membership), set escrow and bond requirements for studios, govern member rights in the event of a member relocation or disability, provide for specific member rights when a studio closes or relocates, or preclude automatic membership renewals. Our franchisees' failure to comply fully with these rules or requirements may subject us or our franchisees to fines, penalties, damages and civil liability, or result in membership contracts being void or voidable. In addition, any changes to such laws or in their interpretation could individually or in the aggregate cause us to change or limit our business practices, which may make our business model less attractive to our franchisees or our members.