Under the Remax Idea Submission Policy, what happens to the intellectual property rights of any ideas submitted through MAX/Center?
Remax Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
If You submit, through MAX/Center (including through the RE/MAX Idea Portal or any other product or service accessible in MAX/Center), any unsolicited or solicited ideas, proposals, suggestions, works, or similar submissions, including any recommendations or ideas for marketing and advertising, services, products, technology, product improvements or enhancements or other content (collectively referred to as "Submissions"), the following terms apply to Your Submissions, regardless of whether Your communication or Submission contains other terms. You agree that: (a) Your Submissions, including any related intellectual property rights, will become Our property automatically when You submit them to Us, and without any compensation to You; (b) We are not restricted in Our use of the Submissions and may use them in any way, including giving them to others; and (c) there is no obligations to keep Submissions confidential or to attribute them to You in any way.
Source: Item 22 — Contracts (FDD pages 108–334)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Remax Franchise Disclosure Document, any ideas submitted through MAX/Center, including the RE/MAX Idea Portal, automatically become the property of RE/MAX, LLC. This transfer of ownership occurs immediately upon submission, without any compensation to the submitting party, whether it's a franchisee or contractor. This policy applies to unsolicited or solicited ideas, proposals, suggestions, works, or similar submissions, including recommendations or ideas for marketing and advertising, services, products, technology, product improvements, enhancements, or other content.
Remax retains unrestricted rights to use these submissions in any way it sees fit, including sharing them with others. The policy explicitly states that Remax has no obligation to keep these submissions confidential or to attribute them to the original submitter. This means a franchisee's innovative ideas could be used by Remax without any credit or financial benefit to the franchisee.
This policy is important for prospective franchisees to understand, as it means any creative ideas or suggestions they submit through MAX/Center become the property of Remax. Franchisees should consider the implications of this policy before submitting any potentially valuable ideas through these channels. It is a fairly standard practice in franchising for the franchisor to own intellectual property, but franchisees should be aware of the specific terms and conditions.
Given this policy, franchisees might want to consult with an attorney before submitting any proprietary ideas through MAX/Center to fully understand their rights and options. They may also want to consider alternative methods for protecting their intellectual property or negotiating specific agreements with Remax regarding the use of their ideas.