What are Dq Treat Operated Locations, Participating Franchisees or Sub-Franchisees prohibited from doing with the Software?
Dq_Treat Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
GIFT grants to Operated Locations, Participating Franchisee or Sub-Franchisee, and Operated Locations, Participating Franchisee or Sub-Franchisee accepts, the nonexclusive, nontransferable right during the term of this Participation Agreement to use the Software solely to perform its obligations.
Operated Locations, Participating Franchisee or Sub-Franchisee will not copy, modify, distribute, display, sublicense, rent, reverse engineer, decompile, create derivative works of, or disassemble the Software, nor will Operated Locations, Participating Franchisee or Sub-Franchisee allow anyone else to do so, except to the extent permitted by applicable law.
Operated Locations, Participating Franchisee or Sub-Franchisee acknowledges that the Software is proprietary and Confidential Information of GIFT.
Operated Locations, Participating Franchisee or Sub-Franchisee will not alter, remove, modify or suppress any notices in the Software.
Source: Item 17 — The following paragraph is added to the end of Item 17 of the Disclosure Document: (FDD pages 70–378)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Dq Treat's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Operated Locations, Participating Franchisees, and Sub-Franchisees are granted a nonexclusive, nontransferable right to use the software solely to perform their obligations during the term of their Participation Agreement. However, they are explicitly restricted from certain actions concerning the software.
Specifically, Dq Treat prohibits these parties from copying, modifying, distributing, displaying, sublicensing, renting, reverse engineering, decompiling, creating derivative works of, or disassembling the Software. Furthermore, they cannot allow anyone else to perform these actions, except to the extent permitted by applicable law. This ensures that the integrity and proprietary nature of the software are maintained.
These restrictions underscore the fact that the software remains the property of GIFT or its suppliers, with no title transferred to the franchisees or sub-franchisees. Franchisees must also ensure that they do not alter, remove, modify, or suppress any notices within the software, reinforcing the protection of GIFT's intellectual property rights. This is a common practice in franchising to protect the franchisor's intellectual property and maintain uniformity across the franchise system.