What rights are specifically excluded from the license granted to Crowne Plaza regarding the FreedomPay Technology?
Crowne_Plaza 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.
FreedomPay owns all Remaining Rights. "Remaining Rights" means, except for the limited license granted to Hotel, all other rights in the software, including but not limited to, improvements, modifications, alterations, additions and deletions to any trademark, logo, copyright or other notices, legends, symbols, labels, displays, sounds, other media or characteristics on or in the FreedomPay Technology on the Products.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 100–424)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Crowne Plaza Franchise Disclosure Document, the license granted to the hotel regarding FreedomPay Technology is limited. Crowne Plaza acknowledges that FreedomPay retains all rights, titles, and interests in the FreedomPay Technology, encompassing patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights related to the goods and services provided (excluding third-party goods and services). This also includes any modifications, improvements, enhancements, updates, localizations, and translations.
The license granted to Crowne Plaza is specifically limited to facilitating the sale of the hotel's products and services. It does not extend to any other rights. FreedomPay retains all "Remaining Rights," which include all rights in the software except for the limited license granted to the hotel. This encompasses improvements, modifications, alterations, additions, and deletions to any trademark, logo, copyright, or other notices on the FreedomPay Technology.
In practical terms, this means that while Crowne Plaza can use the FreedomPay system to process transactions and sell its services, it cannot modify, improve, or otherwise alter the FreedomPay Technology. All intellectual property rights remain with FreedomPay. This is a common arrangement in franchise agreements where specific technologies are licensed for use but remain the property of the technology provider.