Who retains the rights to the Customer Data collected by a Deka Lash franchisee?
Deka_Lash Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
nchise system, all other materials relating to our Franchise system that are not a matter of public record, and all information generated by the parties in the course of the performance of the Franchise Agreement.
Customer Data. "Customer Data" is considered Confidential Information and includes any and all information about Customers that may be collected in connection with their use of your services, including, but not limited to, name, telephone number, address, and email address. We retain all right, title, and interest in and to the Customer Data, including all intellectual property rights.
Personal and Performance Data. You agree that we may share performance data of Franchised Businesses between us, our employees, franchisees, franchisee's employees, affiliates, consultants, distributors, vendors, and agents.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 45–47)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Deka Lash's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, Deka Lash retains all rights, title, and interest in the Customer Data collected by its franchisees, including all intellectual property rights. Customer Data is considered Confidential Information. This data includes any information about customers collected in connection with their use of the franchisee's services, such as name, telephone number, address, and email address.
This means that while a Deka Lash franchisee collects customer information during the course of business, the ownership of that data belongs to Deka Lash. The franchisee is allowed to use this data to perform their obligations under the Franchise Agreement, but dissemination of the Confidential Information should only be on a need-to-know basis.
Upon termination of the franchise agreement, the franchisee must return all Confidential Information, including Customer Data, to Deka Lash. The franchisee is prohibited from revealing any Confidential Information to any other person or entity or using it for the benefit of any other person or business, even after the Franchise Agreement expires or is terminated. This is a fairly standard practice in franchising, as the customer list and associated data are often considered a key asset of the brand.