Regarding the FreedomPay Technology used by Even Hotels, who owns the intellectual property rights?
Even_Hotels 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 99–438)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Even Hotels' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the intellectual property rights to the FreedomPay Technology are owned by FreedomPay. The FDD specifies that all rights, title, and interest in patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights related to FreedomPay's goods and services belong exclusively to FreedomPay. This includes any modifications, improvements, enhancements, updates, localizations, and translations of the technology.
This means that while Even Hotels franchisees are granted a limited license to use the FreedomPay Technology to facilitate the sale of their products and services, they do not acquire any ownership or other rights to the technology itself. The license does not include rights to improvements, modifications, or alterations to any trademark, logo, copyright, or other notices within the FreedomPay Technology. FreedomPay retains all rights not explicitly granted to the franchisee.
This is a common arrangement in franchising, where franchisors often utilize third-party technologies and retain control over their intellectual property. Prospective Even Hotels franchisees should understand that their use of the FreedomPay Technology is subject to the terms and conditions outlined in their agreement with IHG and FreedomPay, and they must not attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or otherwise infringe upon FreedomPay's intellectual property rights. Franchisees should also be aware of the restrictions on using the goods and services for their own business purposes and not making them available to any third party without authorization from IHG or FreedomPay.