Is a Crowne Plaza hotel allowed to reverse engineer any FreedomPay technology?

According to the 2025 Crowne Plaza FDD, Crowne Plaza hotels are explicitly prohibited from reverse engineering FreedomPay technology. The agreement states that the hotel "may not disassemble, decompile or reverse engineer any FreedomPay technology and shall not permit or enable any third party to do so." This restriction is part of the broader terms governing the use of FreedomPay's goods and services.

This restriction protects FreedomPay's intellectual property rights. The FDD states that FreedomPay retains all rights to its technology, including patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights. The license granted to Crowne Plaza hotels is limited to facilitating the sale of the hotel's products and services and does not extend to any other rights regarding the FreedomPay technology.

For a prospective Crowne Plaza franchisee, this means they must rely on FreedomPay and IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) for any modifications, updates, or support related to the FreedomPay system. Attempting to reverse engineer the technology could result in a breach of the franchise agreement and potential legal consequences. Franchisees should ensure they understand the scope of their permitted use of the FreedomPay system and adhere to the restrictions outlined in the agreement.