Non-Disclosure of Confidential Information (a) Executive acknowledges that the Company possesses certain confidential and propriety information that has been or may be revealed to him or learned by Executive during the course of Executive’s employment with the Company and that it would be unfair to use that information or knowledge to compete with or to otherwise disadvantage the Company. Executive shall not, during the Term of Employment or at any time following the Term of Employment, directly or indirectly, disclose or permit to be known (other than as is required in the regular course of his duties (including without limitation disclosures to the Company’s advisors and consultants), as required by law (in which case Executive shall give the Company prior written notice of such required disclosure) or with the prior written consent of the Board of Directors, to any person, firm, corporation, or other entity, any confidential information acquired by him during the course of, or as an incident to, his employment or the rendering of his advisory or consulting services hereunder, relating to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, the directors of the Company or its subsidiaries or affiliates, any supplier or customer of the Company or any of their subsidiaries or affiliates, or any corporation, partnership or other entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by any of the foregoing, or in which any of the foregoing has a beneficial interest, including, but not limited to, the business affairs of each of the foregoing. Such confidential information shall include, but shall not be limited to, proprietary technology, trade secrets, patented processes, research and development data, know-how, market studies and forecasts, financial data, competitive analyses, pricing policies, employee lists, personnel policies, the substance of agreements with customers, suppliers and others, marketing or dealership arrangements, servicing and training programs and arrangements, supplier lists, customer lists and any other documents embodying such confidential information. This confidentiality obligation shall not apply to any confidential information, which is or becomes publicly available other than pursuant to a breach of this paragraph 12(a) by Executive.
(b) All information and documents relating to the Company and its subsidiaries or affiliates as herein above described (or other business affairs) shall be the exclusive property of the Company, and Executive shall use commercially reasonable best efforts to prevent any publication or disclosure thereof. Upon termination of Executive’s employment with the Company, all documents, records, reports, writings and other similar documents containing confidential information, including copies thereof then in Executive’s possession or control shall be returned and left with the Company.
Nondisclosure of Confidential Information (i) The Company and the Employee agree that, during the course of the Employment Term with the Company, the Employee has had and will continue to have access to, and has gained and will continue to gain knowledge with respect to, Confidential Information. The Employee agrees that the Employee shall not, without the prior written consent of the Company, during the period of the Employment Term with the Company and thereafter for so long as it remains Confidential Information to the greatest extent permitted by applicable law, use or disclose, or knowingly permit any unauthorized Person to use, disclose or gain access to, any Confidential Information; provided, however, that the Employee may disclose Confidential Information (x) to a Person to whom the disclosure is reasonably necessary or appropriate in connection with the performance by the Employee of the duties of the Employee’s employment, (y) as required by law or (z) as ordered by a court, provided that in any event described in the preceding clause (y) or (z), (A) the Employee shall promptly notify the Company in writing, and consult with and assist the Company (at the Company’s sole cost) in seeking a protective order or request for another appropriate remedy, (B) in the event that such protective order or remedy is not obtained, or if the Company waives compliance with the terms of the preceding clause (A), the Employee shall disclose only that portion of the Confidential Information that, in the written opinion of the Employee’s legal counsel, is legally required to be disclosed and shall exercise reasonable best efforts to assure that confidential treatment shall be accorded to such Confidential Information by the receiving Person or entity and (C) to the extent permitted by applicable law, the Company shall be given an opportunity to review the Confidential Information prior to disclosure thereof. As requested by the Company from time to time and upon termination of the Employment Term with the Company, the Employee shall promptly deliver to the Company all copies and embodiments, in whatever form (including electronic), of all Confidential Information in the Employee’s possession or control irrespective of the location or form of such material and, if requested by the Company, shall provide the Company with written confirmation that all such materials have been so delivered.
(ii) Without limiting the foregoing, the Employee agrees to keep confidential the existence of, and any information concerning, any dispute between the Employee and the Company or any of its Affiliates, except that the Employee may disclose information concerning such dispute to the court considering such dispute or to the Employee’s legal counsel (provided that such counsel agrees not to disclose any such information other than as necessary to the prosecution or defense of such dispute).
(iii) For purposes of this Agreement, “Confidential Information” means information, observations and data concerning the business and affairs of the Company or any of its Affiliates, including all business information (whether or not in written form) that relates to the Company or any of its Affiliates, or their directors, officers, employees, customers, suppliers or contractors or any other third parties with respect to which the Company or any of its Affiliates has a business relationship or owes a duty of confidentiality, or their respective businesses or products, and that is not known to the public generally other than as a result of the Employee’s breach of this Agreement, including technical information or reports; trade secrets; unwritten knowledge and “know-how”; operating instructions; training manuals; customer lists, if applicable; customer buying records and habits; product sales records and documents, and product development, marketing and sales strategies; market surveys; marketing plans; profitability analyses; product cost; long-range plans; information relating to pricing, competitive strategies and new product development; information relating to any forms of compensation or other personnel-related information; contracts; and supplier lists. Confidential Information shall not include such information known to the Employee prior to the Employee’s involvement with the Company or any of its Affiliates or information rightfully obtained from a third party (other than pursuant to a breach by the Employee of this Agreement or any other duty of confidentiality).
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:
Non-Disclosure of Proprietary Information The Officer acknowledges that all Proprietary Information is received or developed by him in confidence and is the property of the Company. During the period of engagement and thereafter, the Officer will not, directly or indirectly, except as required by the normal business of the Company or expressly consented to in writing by the Company:
(i) disclose, publish or make available, other than to an authorized employee, officer, or Officer of the Company, any Proprietary Information;
(ii) sell, transfer or otherwise use or exploit any Proprietary Information;
(iii) permit the sale, transfer, or use or exploitation of any Proprietary Information by any third party; or
(iv) retain upon termination or expiration of the Period of Engagement any Proprietary Information, any copies thereof or any other tangible or retrievable materials containing or constituting Proprietary Information.
Trade Secrets and Confidential Information (i) Executive represents and warrants that Executive (A) is not subject to any legal or contractual duty or agreement that would prevent or prohibit Executive from performing the duties contemplated by this Agreement or otherwise complying with this Agreement, and (B) is not in breach of any legal or contractual duty or agreement, including any agreement concerning trade secrets or confidential information owned by any other party.
(ii) Executive agrees that Executive will not (A) use, disclose or reverse engineer Trade Secrets or Confidential Information for any purpose other than the Company’s Business, except as authorized in writing by the Company; (B) during Executive’s employment with the Company, use, disclose or reverse engineer (1) any confidential information or trade secrets of any former employer or third party or (2) any works of authorship developed in whole or in part by Executive during any former employment or for any other party, unless authorized in writing by the former employer or third party; or (C) upon Executive’s resignation or termination with the Company (1) retain Trade Secrets or Confidential Information, including any copies existing in any form (including electronic form), which are in Executive’s possession or control or (2) destroy, delete or alter Trade Secrets or Confidential Information without the Company’s prior written consent.
(iii) The obligations under this Section 8 shall remain in effect as long as Trade Secrets and Confidential Information constitute trade secrets or confidential information under applicable law. The confidentiality, property and proprietary rights protections available in this Agreement are in addition to, and not exclusive of, any and all other rights to which the Company is entitled under federal and state law, including, but not limited to, rights provided under copyright laws, trade secret and confidential information laws and laws concerning fiduciary duties.
Disclosure of Confidential Information Any Finance Party may disclose:
(a) to any of its Affiliates and Related Funds and any of its or their officers, directors, employees, professional advisers, auditors, partners and Representatives such Confidential Information as that Finance Party shall consider appropriate if any person to whom the Confidential Information is to be given pursuant to this paragraph (a) is informed in writing of its confidential nature and that some or all of such Confidential Information may be price-sensitive information except that there shall be no such requirement to so inform if the recipient is subject to professional obligations to maintain the confidentiality of the information or is otherwise bound by requirements of confidentiality in relation to the Confidential Information;
(b) to any person:
(i) to (or through) whom it assigns or transfers (or may potentially assign or transfer) all or any of its rights and/or obligations under one or more Finance Documents and to any of that person’s Affiliates, Related Funds, Representatives and professional advisers;
(ii) with (or through) whom it enters into (or may potentially enter into), whether directly or indirectly, any sub-participation in relation to, or any other transaction under which payments are to be made or may be made by reference to, one or more Finance Documents and/or one or more Obligors and to any of that person’s Affiliates, Related Funds, Representatives and professional advisers;
(iii) appointed by any Finance Party or by a person to whom paragraph (b)(i) or (ii) above applies to receive communications, notices, information or documents delivered pursuant to the Finance Documents on its behalf (including, without limitation, any person appointed under paragraph (c) of Clause 25.14 (Relationship with the Lenders));
(iv) who invests in or otherwise finances (or may potentially invest in or otherwise finance), directly or indirectly, any transaction referred to in paragraph (b)(i) or (b)(ii) above;
Non-Disclosure of Trade Secrets During Executive’s Company Employment, Executive shall preserve and protect Trade Secrets of the Company from unauthorized use or disclosure; and after termination of such employment, Executive shall not use or disclose any Trade Secret of the Company for so long as that Trade Secret remains a Trade Secret.
Covenants and Confidential Information (a) The Executive acknowledges the Company’s reliance and expectation of the Executive’s continued commitment to performance of his duties and responsibilities during the term of this Employment Agreement. In light of such reliance and expectation on the part of the Company:
(i) During the term of this Employment Agreement and, during the one-year period following the termination of this Employment Agreement, the Executive shall not: (A) own, manage, control or participate in the ownership, management, or control of, or be employed or engaged by or otherwise affiliated or associated as a consultant, independent contractor or otherwise with, any other corporation, partnership, proprietorship, firm, association or other business entity engaged in the business of, or otherwise engage in the business of, acquiring, owning, developing or managing self-storage facilities; provided, however, that the ownership of not more than one percent (1%) of any class of publicly traded securities of any entity is permitted ; or (B) directly or indirectly or by acting in concert with others, employ or attempt to employ or solicit for any employment competitive with the Company, any Company employees.
(ii) During and after the term of this Employment Agreement, the Executive shall not, directly or indirectly, disclose, divulge, discuss, copy or otherwise use or suffer to be used in any manner, in competition with, or contrary to the interests of, the Company, any confidential information relating to the Company’s operations, properties or otherwise to its particular business or other trade secrets of the Company, it being acknowledged by the Executive that all such information regarding the business of the Company compiled or obtained by, or furnished to, the Executive while the Executive shall have been employed by or associated with the Company is confidential information and the Company’s exclusive property; provided, however, that the foregoing restrictions shall not apply to the extent that such information (A) is clearly obtainable in the public domain, (B) becomes obtainable in the public domain, except by reason of the breach by the Executive of the terms hereof, (C) was not acquired by the Executive in connection with his employment or affiliation with the Company, (D) was not acquired by the Executive from the Company or its representatives, or (E) is required to be disclosed by rule or law or by order of a court or governmental body or agency.
(b) The Executive agrees and understands that the remedy at law for any breach by him of this Paragraph 6 will be inadequate and that the damages flowing from such breach are not readily susceptible to being measured in monetary terms. Accordingly, it is acknowledged that, upon adequate proof of the Executive’s violation of any legally enforceable provision of this Paragraph 6, the Company shall be entitled to immediate injunctive relief and may obtain a temporary order restraining any threatened or further breach.
(c) The Executive has carefully considered the nature and extent of the restrictions upon him and the rights and remedies conferred upon the Company under this Paragraph 6, and hereby acknowledges and agrees that the same are reasonable in time and territory, are designed to eliminate competition which otherwise would be unfair to the Company, do not stifle the inherent skill and experience of the Executive, would not operate as a bar to the Executive’s sole means of support, are fully required to protect the legitimate interests of the Company and do not confer a benefit upon the Company disproportionate to the detriment to the Executive.
Non-Disclosure and Non-Use of Confidential Information At all times both during the Employment Term and for one (1) year thereafter (except with regard to trade secrets, for so long as such information remains a trade secret), Executive agrees that he will not, either directly or indirectly, (i) divulge, use, disclose (in any way or in any manner, including by posting on the Internet), reproduce, distribute, or reverse engineer or otherwise provide Confidential Information to any person, firm, corporation, reporter, author, producer or similar person or entity; (ii) take any action that would make available Confidential Information to the general public in any form; (iii) take any action that uses Confidential Information to solicit any customer of the Company or prospective customer (with whom the Company has had a substantive discussion on it becoming a customer of the Company within the immediately preceding twelve (12) months) in violation of Section 9(b); or (iv) take any action that uses Confidential Information for solicitation of, or marketing for, any service or product on Executive’s behalf or on behalf of any entity other than the Company or its Affiliates with which Executive was in fact associated, except (A) as required in connection with the performance of such Executive’s duties to the Company or any of its Affiliates, (B) as required to be included in any report, statement or testimony requested by any municipal, state or national regulatory body having jurisdiction over Executive, (C) as required in response to any summons or subpoena or in connection with any litigation, (D) to the extent necessary in order to comply with any law, order, regulation, ruling or governmental request applicable to Executive, (E) as required in connection with an audit by any taxing authority, or (F) as permitted by the express written consent of the Company.
(i) In the event Executive is required to disclose Confidential Information pursuant to any of the foregoing exceptions, Executive shall promptly notify the Company of such pending disclosure and assist the Company (at the Company’s sole expense, which will be advanced to Executive concurrently with such assistance) in seeking a protective order or in objecting to such request, summons or subpoena with regard to the Confidential Information. If the Company does not obtain such relief prior to the time that Executive is required to disclose such Confidential Information, Executive may disclose that portion of the Confidential Information (A) which counsel to Executive advises Executive that he is required to disclose or (B) which could subject Executive to be liable for contempt or suffer censure or penalty. In such cases, Executive shall promptly provide the Company with a copy of the Confidential Information so disclosed. This provision applies without limitation to unauthorized use of Confidential Information in any medium, including film, videotape, audiotape and writings of any kind (including books, articles, emails, texts, blogs and websites).
(ii) Executive is hereby notified, pursuant to the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”), that an individual shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any federal or state trade secret law for the disclosure of a trade secret that is made (A) in confidence to a federal, state, or local government official, either directly or indirectly, or to an attorney, and (B) solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law; or (C) where the disclosure of a trade secret is made in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal. In addition, Executive is hereby notified under the DTSA that, if an individual files a lawsuit for retaliation by an employer for reporting a suspected violation of law, the individual may disclose a trade secret to his or her attorney and use the trade secret information in the court proceeding if the individual (Y) files any document containing the trade secret under seal; and (Z) does not disclose the trade secret, except pursuant to court order.
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.
