A special privilege conferred by government on individual or corporation, and which does not belong to citizens of country generally of common right. Elliott v. City of Eugene, 135 Or. 108, 294 P. 358, 360.
In England it is defined to be a royal privilege in the hands of a subject -Black’s Law 4th Edition
(notice something interesting about this definition: in STATE OF CALIFORNIA, people pay their State taxes to the “Franchise Tax Board.” They are literally telling you right there that your name in all caps is a FRANCHISE!)
Franchise: