Who owns the Customer Data hosted by Licensor as part of the Remax Offerings?
Remax Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
As between the Parties, the Customer Data hosted by Licensor as part of the Offerings, and all worldwide intellectual property therein, is the exclusive property of Customer.
All right, title, and interest in Aggregated Statistics (other than any Customer Data incorporated therein), and all Intellectual Property Rights therein, belong to and are retained solely by Licensor.
Customer agrees that Licensor may: (i) make Aggregated Statistics publicly available in compliance with applicable law; and (ii) use Aggregated Statistics to the extent and in the manner permitted under applicable law; provided in each case that such Aggregated Statistics do not identify Customer or allow Customer to be identifiable.
Source: Item 22 — Contracts (FDD pages 108–334)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Remax's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the customer retains ownership of customer data hosted by the licensor. Specifically, the document states that as between the parties, the customer data hosted by the licensor as part of the offerings, and all worldwide intellectual property therein, is the exclusive property of the customer.
This means that while Remax may have access to customer data to provide and maintain its offerings, the data itself and all associated intellectual property rights remain with the customer. Remax is granted a license to use this data for specific purposes, such as providing and maintaining the offerings and creating aggregated statistics, but this license does not transfer ownership.
Remax retains all rights, title, and interest in aggregated statistics (other than any customer data incorporated therein), and all intellectual property rights therein. However, Remax must ensure that these aggregated statistics do not identify the customer or allow the customer to be identifiable. This distinction ensures that while Remax can leverage aggregated data for its purposes, the individual customer's data remains protected and owned by the customer.
This arrangement is typical in franchise agreements where customer data is involved. It protects the franchisee's customer relationships and ensures they maintain control over sensitive information while allowing the franchisor to utilize data for system-wide improvements and analytics.