Confidential Information and Non-Solicitation (a) The Executive shall hold in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of the Company all secret or confidential information, knowledge or data relating to the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, which shall have been obtained by the Executive in connection with the Executive’s employment by the Company and which shall not be or become public knowledge (other than by acts by the Executive or representatives of the Executive in violation of this Agreement). After termination of the Executive’s employment with the Company, the Executive shall not, without the prior written consent of the Company or as may otherwise be required by law or legal process, communicate or divulge any such information, knowledge or data, to anyone other than the Company and those designated by it; provided, however, that if the Executive receives actual notice that the Executive is or may be required by law or legal process to communicate or divulge any such information, knowledge or data, the Executive shall promptly so notify the Company.
(b) While employed by the Company and, for a period of one (1) year after the Date of Termination, the Executive shall not directly or indirectly solicit, induce, or encourage any employee or consultant of any member of the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates to terminate their employment or other relationship with the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates or to cease to render services to any member of the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates and the Executive shall not initiate discussion with any such person for any such purpose or authorize or knowingly cooperate with the taking of any such actions by any other individual or entity. During his employment with the Company and thereafter, the Executive shall not use any trade secret of the Company or its subsidiaries or affiliates to solicit, induce, or encourage any customer, client, vendor, or other party doing business with any member of the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates to terminate its relationship therewith or transfer its business from any member of the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates and the Executive shall not initiate discussion with any such person for any such purpose or authorize or knowingly cooperate with the taking of any such actions by any other individual or entity.
(c) In recognition of the facts that irreparable injury will result to the Company in the event of a breach by the Executive of his obligations under Sections 7(a) and (b) hereof, that monetary damages for such breach would not be readily calculable, and that the Company would not have an adequate remedy at law therefor, the Executive acknowledges, consents and agrees that in the event of such breach, or the threat thereof, the Company shall be entitled, in addition to any other legal remedies and damages available, to specific performance thereof and to temporary and permanent injunctive relief (without the necessity of posting a bond) to restrain the violation or threatened violation of such obligations by the Executive.
Confidential Information; Non-Disclosure In consideration of your access to certain Confidential Information (as defined below) of the Company, in connection with your business relationship with the Company, you hereby represent and agree as follows:
Confidential Information and Non-Competition 13.1 The Executive acknowledges and agrees that in performing the duties and responsibilities of her employment pursuant to this Agreement, she will occupy a position of high fiduciary trust and confidence with the Corporation, pursuant to which she will develop and acquire wide experience and knowledge with respect to all aspects of the Business carried on by the Corporation and its Related Corporations, and the manner in which such Business is conducted. It is the express intent and agreement of the Executive and the Corporation that such knowledge and experience shall be used solely and exclusively in furtherance of the Business interests of the Corporation and its Related Corporations, and not in any manner detrimental to them. The Executive therefore agrees that, so long as she is engaged by the Corporation pursuant to this Agreement, she shall not engage in any practice or business that competes with the Business of the Corporation or its Related Corporations. It shall not be considered a violation of this Section 13.1 for the Executive to be involved as an investor or shareholder in securities issued by corporations that compete directly or indirectly with the Business, provided that such investment does not constitute more than 5% of the outstanding securities of a business or corporation whose shares trade on a recognized stock exchange.
13.2 The Executive agrees that during the Term, and following the termination of the Executive's employment for any reason, she shall treat confidentially all Confidential Information belonging to the Corporation or its Related Corporations, and shall not use or disclose the Confidential Information to any unauthorized persons, except with the prior express written consent of the Corporation, or otherwise as required by law.
13.3 The Executive further acknowledges and agrees that pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, she will acquire Company Property which is and shall remain the sole and exclusive property of the Corporation. Upon termination of the Executive's employment and this Agreement for any reason, the Executive shall return to the Corporation all Company Property, together with any copies or reproductions thereof, which may have come into the Executive's possession during the course of or pursuant to this Agreement, and shall delete or destroy all computer files on her personal computer which may contain any Confidential Information belonging to the Corporation, or its Related Corporations.
13.4 Notwithstanding the provision of 13.2 and 13.3, the Executive shall be permitted to disclose Confidential Information as required by law, regulation, government body or authority or by court order.
13.5 The Executive acknowledges and agrees that the Corporation would suffer irreparable harm in the event that any Confidential Information or other knowledge and experience acquired by the Executive in relation to the business of the Corporation were disclosed to a competitor of the Corporation or used for a competitive purpose for a reasonable period of time following the termination of her employment. Accordingly, the Executive agrees that in the event her employment with the Corporation is terminated for Cause by the Corporation, or in the event that the Executive voluntarily resigns her employment with the Corporation, neither she nor any employee or agent of the Executive shall, for a period of three (3) months from the Termination Date:
(a) be engaged, either directly or indirectly in any manner including, without limitation, as an officer, director, shareholder, owner, partner, member, joint venturer, employee, independent contractor, consultant, advisor or sales representative, in any business or enterprise which competes with the Business of the Corporation or any Related Corporation, as such business was conducted as of the Termination Date, with the exception that the Executive may be involved as an investor or shareholder in securities issued by corporations that compete directly or indirectly with the Business, provided that such investment does not constitute more than 5% of the outstanding securities of a business or corporation whose shares trade on a recognized stock exchange;
(b) solicit, entice or attempt to solicit or entice, either directly or indirectly, any customer or prospective customer of the Corporation or any Related Corporation as at the Termination Date, to become a customer of any business or enterprise which competes with the Corporation or any Related Corporation for any business as such business was conducted by the Corporation or any Related Corporation as at the Termination Date; or
(c) solicit or entice, or attempt to solicit or entice, either directly or indirectly, any employee of the Corporation or any Related Corporation as at the Termination Date, to become employed by or connected with any business or enterprise which competes with the Corporation or any Related Corporation for any business as such business was conducted by the Corporation or any Related Corporation as at the Termination Date. The restrictions set out in this Section 13.5 shall apply only within North America or to any business that directly relates to North America.
13.6 The Executive acknowledges and agrees that the Corporation will suffer harm in the event that the Executive breaches any of the obligations under this Article 13, and that monetary damages would be difficult to quantify and may be inadequate to compensate the Corporation for such a breach. Accordingly, the Executive agrees that in the event of a breach or a threatened breach by the Executive of any of the provisions of this Article 13, the Corporation shall be entitled to seek, in addition to any other rights, remedies or damages available to the Corporation at law or in equity, an interim and permanent injunction, in order to prevent or restrain any such breach or threatened breach by the Executive.
13.7 The Executive hereby agrees that all restrictions contained in this Article 13 are reasonable and necessary to protect the legitimate proprietary interests of the Corporation, and will not unduly restrict her ability to secure comparable alternative employment following the termination of her employment for any reason. If any covenant or provision of this Article 13 is determined to be void or unenforceable in whole or in part, for any reason, it shall be deemed not to affect or impair the validity of any other covenant or provision of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect.
13.8 The provisions of this Article 13 shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement for any reason.
Trade Secrets and Proprietary Information (a) Executive recognizes and acknowledges that the Company, through the expenditure of considerable time and money, has developed and will continue to develop in the future information concerning customers, clients, marketing, products, services, business, research and development activities and operational methods of the Company and its customers or clients, contracts, financial or other data, technical data or any other confidential or proprietary information possessed, owned or used by the Company, the disclosure of which could or does have a material adverse effect on the Company, its business, any business it proposes to engage in, its operations, financial condition or prospects and that the same are confidential and proprietary and considered “confidential information” of the Company for the purposes of this Agreement. In consideration of his employment, Executive agrees that he will not, during or after the Term, without the consent of the Board make any disclosure of confidential information now or hereafter possessed by the Company, to any person, partnership, corporation or entity either during or after the term here of, except that nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prohibit Executive from using or disclosing such information (a) if such disclosure is necessary in the normal course of the Company’s business in accordance with Company policies or instructions or authorization from the Board, (b) such information shall become public knowledge other than by or as a result of disclosure by a person not having a right to make such disclosure, or (c) subsequent to the Term, if such information shall have either (i) been developed by Executive independent of any of the Company’s confidential or proprietary information or (ii) been disclosed to Executive by a person not subject to a confidentiality agreement with or other obligation of confidentiality to the Company. For the purposes of Sections 6, 7 and 8 of this Agreement, the term “Company” shall include the Company, its parent, its subsidiaries and affiliates, other than affiliates whose relationship as an affiliate is derived solely from Executive’s interest in or position at the affiliate.
(b) In the event that any trade secrets or other confidential information covered by Section 6(a) of this Agreement is required to be produced by Executive pursuant to legal process, Executive shall give the Company notice of such legal process within a reasonable time, but not later than ten (10) business days prior to the date such disclosure is to be made, unless Executive has received less notice, in which event Executive shall immediately notify the Company. The Company shall have the right to object to any such disclosure, and if the Company objects (at the Company’s cost and expense) in a timely manner so that Executive is not subject to penalties for failure to make such disclosure, Executive shall not make any disclosure until there has been a court determination on the Company’s objections. If disclosure is required by a court order, final beyond right of review, or if the Company does not object to the disclosure, Executive shall make disclosure only to the extent that disclosure is unequivocally required by the court order, and Executive will exercise reasonable efforts at the Company’s expense, to obtain reliable assurance that confidential treatment will be accorded the Confidential Information.
Confidential Information Noncompetition and Cooperation The terms of the Employee Non-Competition, Non-Solicitation, Confidentiality and Assignment Agreement (the “Restrictive Covenant Agreement”), between the Company and the Employee, attached hereto as Exhibit A, shall continue to be in full force and effect and are incorporated by reference in this Agreement. The Employee hereby reaffirms the terms of the Restrictive Covenant Agreement as material terms of this Agreement.
Protection of Confidential Information; Non-Competition 4.1. Executive acknowledges that:
(1) As a result of his current employment with the Company, Executive will obtain secret and confidential information concerning the business of the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates (referred to collectively in this Article 4 as the “Company”), including, without limitations, financial information, designs and other proprietary rights, trade secrets and “know-how,” customers and sources (“Confidential Information”).
(2) The Company will suffer substantial damage which will be difficult to compute if, during the period of his employment with the Company or thereafter, Executive should enter a business competitive with the Company or divulge Confidential Information.
(3) The provisions of this Agreement are reasonable and necessary for the protection of the business of the Company.
4.2. Executive agrees that he will not at any time, either during the term of this Agreement or thereafter, divulge to any person or entity any Confidential Information obtained or learned by him as a result of his employment with the Company, except (i) in the course of performing his duties hereunder, (ii) to the extent that any such information is in the public domain other than as a result of Executive’s breach of any of his obligations hereunder, (iii) where required to be disclosed by court order, subpoena or other government process or (iv) if such disclosure is made without Executive’s knowing intent to cause material harm to the Company. If Executive shall be required to make disclosure pursuant to the provisions of clause (iii) of the preceding sentence, Executive promptly, but in no event more than 72 hours after learning of such subpoena, court order, or other government process, shall notify, by personal delivery or by electronic means, confirmed by mail, the Company and, at the Company’s expense, Executive shall: (a) take reasonably necessary and lawful steps required by the Company to defend against the enforcement of such subpoena, court order or other government process, and (b) permit the Company to intervene and participate with counsel of its choice in any proceeding relating to the enforcement thereof.
4.3. Upon termination of his employment with the Company, Executive will promptly deliver to the Company all memoranda, notes, records, reports, manuals, drawings, blue-prints and other documents (and all copies thereof) relating to the business of the Company and all property associated therewith, which he may then possess or have under his control; provided, however, that the Executive shall be entitled to retain one copy of such documents for his personal use and records.
4.4. During the period commencing with the start date of employment under this agreement and terminating three years after termination of employment: (A) Executive, without the prior written permission of the Company, shall not, anywhere in the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan, (i) enter into the employ of or render any services to any person, firm or corporation engaged in any business which is directly in competition with the Company’s principal existing business at the time of termination (“Competitive Business”); (ii) engage in any Competitive Business as an individual, partner, shareholder, creditor, director, officer, principal, agent, employee, trustee consultant, advisor or in any other relationship or capacity; (iv) employ, or have or cause any other person or entity to employ, any person who was employed by the Company at the time of termination of Executive’s employment by the Company (other than Executive’s personal secretary and assistant); or (v) solicit, interfere with, or endeavor to entice away from the Company, for the benefit of a Competitive Business, any of its customers. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Executive shall not be precluded from investing and managing the investment of, his or his family’s assets in the securities of any corporation or other business entity which is engaged in a Competitive Business if such securities are traded on a national stock exchange or in the over-the-counter market and if such investment does not result in his beneficially owning, at any time, more than 5% of any class of the publicly-traded equity securities of such Competitive Business; provided, however, that for a period commencing with the start date of employment under this agreement and terminating three years after termination of Executive’s employment (except for investments in a class of securities trading on public markets), Executive shall refer to the Company for consideration (before any other party) any and all opportunities to acquire or purchase, or otherwise make equity or debt investments in, companies primarily involved in a Competitive Business if such opportunities becomes known to Executive while he is the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. If the Company determines not to exploit any opportunity referred to in the foregoing sentence, the Company shall determine what, if anything, should be done with such opportunity. Executive shall not be entitled to any compensation, as a finder or otherwise, if either the Company or Executive introduces such opportunity to other persons, it being understood that all such compensation shall be paid to the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event the Company terminates this Agreement without “cause” or if Executive terminates this Agreement for Good Reason under Section 3.5 hereof, Executive’s obligations under this Section 4.4 shall terminate one month following termination.
4.5. If Executive commits a breach of any of the provisions of Sections 4.2 or 4.4, the Company shall have the right:
(1) to have the provisions of this Agreement specifically enforced by any court having equity jurisdiction, it being acknowledged and agreed by Executive that the services being rendered hereunder to the Company are of a special, unique and extraordinary character and that any breach or threatened breach will cause irreparable injury to the Company and that money damages will not provide an adequate remedy to the Company; and
(2) to require Executive to account for and pay over to the Company all monetary damages determined by a non-appealable decision by a court of law to have been suffered by the Company as the result of any actions constituting a breach of any of the provisions of Section 4.2 or 4.4, and Executive hereby agrees to account for and pay over such damages to the Company (up to the maximum of all payments made under the Agreement).
4.6. If Executive shall violate any covenant contained in Section 4.4, the duration of such covenant so violated shall be automatically extended for a period of time equal to the period of such violation.
4.7. If any provision of Sections 4.2 or 4.4 is held to be unenforceable because of the scope, duration or area of its applicability, the tribunal making such determination shall not have the power to modify such scope, duration, or area, or all of them and such provision or provisions shall be void ab initio.
CONFIDENTIAL & PROPRIETARY INFORMATION The parties may provide technical information, documentation and expertise to each other that is either (1) marked as being confidential or, (2) if delivered in oral form is summarized in writing within 10 working days and identified as being confidential (“Confidential Information”). The receiving party shall for a period of five (5) years from the date of disclosure (i) hold the disclosing party’s Confidential Information in strict confidence, and (ii), except as previously authorized in writing by the disclosing party, not publish or disclose the disclosing party’s Confidential Information to anyone other than the receiving party’s employees on a need-to-know basis, and (iii) use the disclosing party’s Confidential Information solely for performance of this Contract. The foregoing requirement shall not apply to any portion of a party’s Confidential Information which (a) becomes publicly known through no wrongful act or omission on the part of the receiving party; (b) is already known to the receiving party at the time of the disclosure without similar nondisclosure obligations; (c) is rightfully received by the receiving party from a third party without similar nondisclosure obligations; (d) is approved for release by written authorization of the disclosing party; (e) is clearly demonstrated by the receiving party to have been independently developed by the receiving party without access to the disclosing party’s Confidential Information; or (f) is required to be disclosed by order of a court or governmental body or by applicable law, provided that the party intending to make such required disclosure shall promptly notify the other party of such intended disclosure in order to allow such party to seek a protective order or other remedy.
Confidentiality and Proprietary Information 9.1 For the purposes of this Agreement, Confidential Information (“Confidential Information”) means confidential or proprietary technical or business information given by one Party (the “Discloser”) to the other (the “Recipient”). All information which is disclosed by one Party to the other in connection with this Agreement, during negotiations and the term of this Agreement will not be deemed Confidential Information to the Discloser and subject to this Section 9, unless the confidentiality of the information is confirmed in writing by the Discloser prior to disclosure. The Recipient agrees (i) to use Confidential Information only for the purpose of performing under this Agreement, (ii) to hold it in confidence and disclose it to no one other than its employees having a need to know for the purpose of performing under this Agreement, and (iii) to safeguard it from unauthorized use or disclosure using at least the same degree of care with which the Recipient safeguards its own Confidential Information. If the Recipient wishes to disclose the Discloser's Confidential Information to a third-party agent or consultant, such disclosure must be agreed to in writing by the Discloser, and the agent or consultant must have executed a written agreement of nondisclosures and nonuse comparable in scope to the terms of this section.
9.2 The Recipient may make copies of Confidential Information only as reasonably necessary to perform its obligations under this Agreement. All such copies will be subject to the same restrictions and protections as the original and will bear the same copyright and proprietary rights notices as are contained on the original.
9.3 The Recipient agrees to return all Confidential Information in tangible form received from the Discloser, including any copies made by the Recipient, within thirty (30) days after a written request is delivered to the Recipient, or to destroy all such Confidential Information if directed to do so by Discloser except for Confidential Information that the Recipient reasonably requires to perform its obligations under this Agreement; the Recipient shall certify destruction by written letter to the Discloser. If either Party loses or makes an unauthorized disclosure of the Party’s Confidential Information, it will notify such other Party immediately and use its best efforts to retrieve the lost or wrongfully disclosed information.
9.4 The Recipient shall have no obligation to safeguard Confidential Information: (i) which was in the possession of the Recipient free of restriction prior to its receipt from the Discloser; (ii) after it becomes publicly known or available through no breach of this Agreement by the Recipient; (iii) after it is rightfully acquired by the Recipient free of restrictions on its discloser; (iv) after it is independently developed by personnel of the Recipient to whom the Discloser's Confidential Information had not been previously disclosed. In addition, either Party will have the right to disclose Confidential Information to any mediator, arbitrator, state or federal regulatory body, or a court in the conduct of any mediation, arbitration or approval of this Agreement, as long as, in the absence of an applicable protective order, the Discloser has been previously notified by the Recipient in time sufficient for the Recipient to undertake all lawful measures to avoid disclosing such confidential information and for Discloser to have reasonable time to seek or negotiate a protective order before or with any applicable mediator, arbitrator, state or regulatory body or a court.
9.5 The Parties recognize that an individual End User may simultaneously seek to become or be a customer of both Parties. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to limit the ability of either Party to use customer specific information lawfully obtained from End Users or sources other than the Discloser.
9.6 Each Party’s obligations to safeguard Confidential Information disclosed prior to expiration or termination of this Agreement will survive such expiration or termination.
9.7 No license is hereby granted under any patent, trademark, or copyright, nor is any such license implied solely by virtue or the disclosure of any Confidential Information.
9.8 Each Party agrees that the Discloser may be irreparably injured by a disclosure in breach of this Agreement by the Recipient or its representatives and the Discloser will be entitled to seek equitable relief, including injunctive relief and specific performance, in the event of any breach or threatened breach of the confidentiality provisions of this Agreement. Such remedies will not be deemed to be the exclusive remedies for a breach of this Agreement, but will be in addition to all other remedies available at law or in equity.
Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreements The Company shall require all employees and consultants with access to confidential information to execute and deliver a Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement in substantially the form approved by the Company’s Board of Directors.
Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement The Company shall require all employees and consultants to execute and deliver a Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement substantially in a form approved by the Company’s counsel or Board of Directors.
