Who owns the technology and intellectual property resulting from the Crawl Space Ninja Brand Fund?
Crawl_Space_Ninja Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
The Brand Fund collects and expends the Brand Fund contributions for the benefit of the System as a whole. We reserve the right to use the Brand Fund contributions to place advertising in national, regional or local media (including broadcast, print, or other media) and to conduct marketing campaigns through any channel, in our discretion, including but not limited to, Internet and direct-mail campaigns. We have no obligation, however, to place advertising or conduct marketing campaigns in any particular area, including the Territory where your Franchised Business is located. The Brand Fund and its earnings shall not otherwise inure to our benefit except that any resulting technology and intellectual property shall be deemed our property.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 24–31)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to the 2024 Crawl Space Ninja Franchise Disclosure Document, any technology and intellectual property that results from the Brand Fund is deemed the property of Crawl Space Ninja. The Brand Fund is collected from franchisees, with a required contribution of one percent (1%) of weekly Gross Revenue, and Crawl Space Ninja has the right to increase this to two percent (2%).
The Brand Fund is used for the benefit of the entire Crawl Space Ninja system, and Crawl Space Ninja has the right to use these contributions for advertising in various media and marketing campaigns through any channel. While Crawl Space Ninja has the right to place advertising in national, regional, or local media, they are not obligated to place advertising in any specific area, including the territory where a franchisee's business is located.
This means that while franchisees contribute to the Brand Fund, which may lead to the development of new technology or intellectual property, they will not own any part of it. Crawl Space Ninja retains full ownership. This is a common practice in franchising, where the franchisor maintains control over the brand and associated intellectual property.