What ownership rights does the Pearce Bespoke Franchisee have in the customer list?
Pearce_Bespoke Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchisor may maintain itself or require Franchisee to maintain a current listing of the names, addresses, ages and activity statistics of customers of the Franchisee, subject to strict compliance with local data privacy laws and the technologies and processes approved by Franchisor in the Operations Manual. To maintain such list, Franchisor may require that Franchisee use and keep updated approved contact management software. Franchisee may be asked to supply such list electronically on a monthly basis. Any and all customer data collected or provided by Franchisee, retrieved from Franchisee's computer system or point-of-sale system, or otherwise collected from Franchisee by Franchisor or provided to Franchisor, is and will be owned exclusively by Franchisor and will be considered to be Franchisor's proprietary and Confidential Information (as defined in Section 9 below). Franchisor has the right to use such data in any manner without compensation to Franchisee. Franchisor licenses to Franchisee the use of such data solely for the purpose of operating
the Pearce Bespoke Franchise; provided that, this license shall automatically and irrevocably terminate, without any additional action or notice required by Franchisor, upon the expiration or earlier termination of this Agreement.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 39)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Pearce Bespoke's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisor maintains ownership and control over customer lists. Pearce Bespoke may either maintain the list themselves or require the franchisee to do so, adhering to local data privacy laws and using approved technologies and processes outlined in the Operations Manual. The franchisee may be required to use and update approved contact management software and provide the customer list electronically on a monthly basis.
All customer data collected or provided by the franchisee, retrieved from their computer or point-of-sale system, or otherwise collected by Pearce Bespoke, is the exclusive property of the franchisor. This data is considered proprietary and confidential information, which Pearce Bespoke has the right to use in any manner without compensating the franchisee.
The franchisee is granted a license to use this data solely for operating the Pearce Bespoke franchise. However, this license automatically terminates upon the expiration or termination of the Franchise Agreement without any additional notice from Pearce Bespoke. Upon termination of the agreement, all customer lists and related records must be returned to Pearce Bespoke, and the franchisor may market to the franchisee's customers both during and after the term of the agreement.