What happens to the ownership of data created or collected by a Beggars Pizza franchisee after the termination or expiration of the franchise agreement?
Beggars_Pizza Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
In addition, all other data created or collected by Franchisee in connection with the System, or in connection with Franchisee's operation of the Restaurant (including, without limitation, consumer and transaction data), is and will be owned exclusively by Franchisor during the term of, and following termination or expiration of, the Agreement.
Copies and/or originals of such data must be provided to Franchisor upon Franchisor's request.
Franchisor hereby licenses use of such data back to Franchisee, at no additional cost, solely for the term of the Agreement and solely for Franchisee's use in connection with the establishment and operation of the Restaurant pursuant to the Agreement.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 39)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Beggars Pizza's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, all data created or collected by a franchisee in connection with the Beggars Pizza system or the operation of their restaurant, including consumer and transaction data, is owned exclusively by Beggars Pizza both during the term of the franchise agreement and following its termination or expiration. This means that even after a franchisee's relationship with Beggars Pizza ends, the company retains ownership of all data generated during the franchise term.
Beggars Pizza also requires franchisees to provide copies or originals of such data upon request. However, during the term of the agreement, Beggars Pizza licenses the use of this data back to the franchisee at no additional cost. This license is specifically for the franchisee's use in connection with the establishment and operation of the restaurant as per the franchise agreement.
This clause has significant implications for a prospective Beggars Pizza franchisee. While they can use the data to run their business during the franchise term, they cannot take it with them or use it for any other purpose should the franchise agreement terminate. This is a fairly standard practice in franchising, as the franchisor wants to maintain control over customer data and ensure consistency across the brand. Franchisees should be aware that building a customer base does not translate to owning the data associated with those customers; that data remains the property of Beggars Pizza.