Who owns the intellectual property rights to the FreedomPay Technology used by Atwell Suites?
Atwell_Suites Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Hotel acknowledges that all right, title and interest in and to all patents, copyrights, trade secret, trademark and other intellectual property rights in the goods and services (other than thirdparty Goods and Third-Party services), together with all modifications, improvements, enhancements, updates, localizations and translations thereof (collectively, "FreedomPay Technology"), are, and at all times will remain, the sole and exclusive property of FreedomPay, the provider of the Secure Switching service.
Nothing contained in this Participation Agreement may directly or indirectly be construed to assign or grant to Hotel or any third party any license, right, title or interest in or to the FreedomPay Technology except as necessary to use the goods or services or as otherwise expressly provided in this Participation Agreement.
The license granted to Hotel to the software embedded in the Products and Secure Switching and granted to Hotel in its agreement with IHG is limited to facilitating the sale of Hotel's products and services and does not include any other rights of any type.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 99–486)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Atwell Suites Franchise Disclosure Document, FreedomPay owns the intellectual property rights to the FreedomPay Technology. The FDD specifies that all rights, titles, and interests, including patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights related to FreedomPay Technology, remain the sole and exclusive property of FreedomPay. This ownership extends to all modifications, improvements, enhancements, updates, localizations, and translations of the technology.
For a prospective Atwell Suites franchisee, this means they are granted a limited license to use the FreedomPay Technology solely for facilitating the sale of the hotel's products and services. This license does not extend to any other rights, and franchisees cannot claim ownership or modify the technology. The franchisee must acknowledge FreedomPay's ownership and adhere to the terms and conditions outlined in their agreement with IHG, the parent company of Atwell Suites.
This arrangement is typical in franchising, where franchisors often use third-party technologies and retain control over their intellectual property. The franchisee's use of the technology is strictly limited to the scope defined in the franchise agreement. Any unauthorized use, modification, or attempt to reverse engineer the technology is prohibited. This ensures consistency and quality control across all Atwell Suites locations while protecting the intellectual property rights of FreedomPay.