Confidentiality of Proprietary Information Employee agrees, during or after the term of this employment, not to reveal confidential information, or trade secrets to any person, firm, corporation, or entity. Should Employee reveal or threaten to reveal this information, the Company shall be entitled to an injunction restraining the Employee from disclosing same, or from rendering any services to any entity to whom said information has been or is threatened to be disclosed. The right to secure an injunction is not exclusive, and the Company may pursue any other remedies it has against the Employee for a breach or threatened breach of this condition, including the recovery of damages from the Employee.
Protection of Proprietary Information The Seller has taken all reasonable steps to maintain the confidentiality of and otherwise protect and enforce their rights in all proprietary information pertaining to the Seller or any Seller Product. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, no portion of the source code for any software ever owned or developed by the Seller has been disclosed or licensed to any escrow agent or other Person.
Use of Proprietary Information Officer recognizes that Corporation possesses a proprietary interest in all of the information described in Section 6 and has the exclusive right and privilege to use, protect by copyright, patent or trademark, manufacture or otherwise exploit the processes, ideas and concepts described therein to the exclusion of Officer, except as otherwise agreed between Corporation and Officer in writing. Officer expressly agrees that any products, inventions, discoveries or improvements made by Officer, his agents or affiliates based on or arising out of the information described in Section 6 shall be (i) deemed a work made for hire under the terms of United States Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq., and Corporation shall be the owner of all such rights with respect thereto and (ii) the property of and inure to the exclusive benefit of Corporation.
Return of Proprietary Information 20.6.1 All Proprietary Information, other than Derivative Information, shall remain the property of the Disclosing Party, and all documents or other tangible media delivered to the Receiving Party that embody such Proprietary Information shall be, at the option of the Disclosing Party, either promptly returned to Disclosing Party or destroyed, except as otherwise may be required from time to time by Applicable Law (in which case the use and disclosure of such Proprietary Information will continue to be subject to this Agreement), upon the earlier of (i) the date on which the Receiving Party’s need for it has expired and (ii) the expiration or termination of this Agreement.
20.6.2 At the request of the Disclosing Party, any Derivative Information shall be, at the option of the Receiving Party, either promptly returned to the Disclosing Party or destroyed, except as otherwise may be required from time to time by Applicable Law (in which case the use and disclosure of such Derivative Information will continue to be subject to this Agreement), upon the earlier of (i) the date on which the Receiving Party’s need for it has expired and (ii) the expiration or termination of this Agreement.
20.6.3 The Receiving Party may at any time either return the Proprietary Information to the Disclosing Party or destroy such Proprietary Information. If the Receiving Party elects to destroy Proprietary Information, all copies of such information shall be destroyed and upon the written request of the Disclosing Party, the Receiving Party shall provide to the Disclosing Party written certification of such destruction. The destruction or return of Proprietary information shall not relieve any Receiving Party of its obligation to continue to treat such Proprietary Information in the manner required by this Agreement.
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.
Nondisclosure of Proprietary Information (a) Except in connection with the faithful performance of Executive’s duties hereunder or pursuant to Section 7(c) or (e), Executive shall, in perpetuity, maintain in confidence and shall not directly, indirectly or otherwise, use, disseminate, disclose or publish, or use for Executive’s benefit or the benefit of any person, firm, corporation or other entity (other than the Company) any confidential or proprietary information or trade secrets of or relating to the Company (including business plans, business strategies and methods, acquisition targets, intellectual property in the form of patents, trademarks and copyrights and applications therefor, ideas, inventions, works, discoveries, improvements, information, documents, formulae, practices, processes, methods, developments, source code, modifications, technology, techniques, data, programs, other know-how or materials, owned, developed or possessed by the Company, whether in tangible or intangible form, information with respect to the Company’s operations, processes, products, inventions, business practices, finances, principals, vendors, suppliers, customers, potential customers, marketing methods, costs, prices, contractual relationships, regulatory status, prospects and compensation paid to employees or other terms of employment) (collectively, the “Confidential Information”), or deliver to any person, firm, corporation or other entity any document, record, notebook, computer program or similar repository of or containing any such Confidential Information. The Parties hereby stipulate and agree that, as between them, any item of Confidential Information is important, material and confidential and affects the successful conduct of the businesses of the Company (and any successor or assignee of the Company). Notwithstanding the foregoing, Confidential Information shall not include any information that has been published in a form generally available to the public or is publicly available or has become public knowledge prior to the date Executive proposes to disclose or use such information, provided that such publishing or public availability or knowledge of the Confidential Information shall not have resulted from Executive directly or indirectly breaching Executive’s obligations under this Section 7(a) or any other similar provision by which Executive is bound, or from any third-party known by Executive to be breaching a provision similar to that found under this Section 7(a). For the purposes of the previous sentence, Confidential Information will not be deemed to have been published or otherwise disclosed merely because individual portions of the information have been separately published, but only if material features comprising such information have been published or become publicly available.
(b) Upon termination of Executive’s employment with the Company for any reason, Executive will promptly deliver to the Company all correspondence, drawings, manuals, letters, notes, notebooks, reports, programs, plans, proposals, financial documents, or any other documents or property concerning the Company’s customers, business plans, marketing strategies, products, property or processes, provided that Executive may retain his compensation-related information, personal journal and rolodex, address book, appointment book, calendar and/or contact list.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 7(a), Executive may respond to a lawful and valid subpoena or other legal process but shall give the Company the earliest practicable notice thereof, shall, as much in advance of the return date as practicable, make available to the Company and its counsel the documents and other information sought and shall assist such counsel at Company’s sole expense in resisting or otherwise responding to such process, in each case to the extent permitted by applicable laws or rules.
(d) As used in this Section 7 and Section 8, the term “Company” shall include the Company and its direct and indirect subsidiaries.
(e) Nothing in this Agreement shall prohibit Executive from (i) disclosing information and documents when required by law, subpoena or court order (subject to the requirements of Section 7(c) above), (ii) disclosing information and documents to Executive’s attorney, financial or tax adviser for the purpose of securing legal, financial or tax advice, (iii) disclosing Executive’s post-employment restrictions in this Agreement in confidence to any potential new employer, or (iv) retaining, at any time, Executive’s personal correspondence, Executive’s personal contacts and documents related to Executive’s own personal benefits, entitlements and obligations.
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.
Definition of Proprietary Information The Executive acknowledges that he may be furnished or may otherwise receive or have access to confidential information which relates to the Company’s past, present or future business activities, strategies, services or products, research and development; financial analysis and data; improvements, inventions, processes, techniques, designs or other technical data; profit margins and other financial information; fee arrangements; compilations for marketing or development; confidential personnel and payroll information; or other information regarding administrative, management, or financial activities of the Company, or of a third party which provided proprietary information to the Company on a confidential basis. All such information, including in any electronic form, and including any materials or documents containing such information, shall be considered by the Company and the Executive as proprietary and confidential (the “Proprietary Information”).
Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Confidential Information Executive agrees that Executive shall not, directly or indirectly, use any Confidential Information on Executive’s own behalf or on behalf of any Person other than Employer, or reveal, divulge, or disclose any Confidential Information to any Person not expressly authorized by Employer to receive such Confidential Information. This obligation shall remain in effect for as long as the information or materials in question retain their status as Confidential Information. Executive further agrees to fully cooperate with Employer in maintaining the Confidential Information to the extent permitted by law. The Parties acknowledge and agree that this Agreement is not intended to, and does not, alter either Employer’s rights or Executive’s obligations under any state or federal statutory or common law regarding trade secrets and unfair trade practices. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, Executive shall not be restricted from disclosing information that is required to be disclosed by law, court order, or other valid and appropriate legal process; provided, however, that in the event such disclosure is required by law, Executive shall provide Employer with prompt notice of such requirement so that Employer may seek an appropriate protective order prior to any such required disclosure by Executive. Executive understands and acknowledges that nothing in this section limits Executive’s ability to report possible violations of federal, state, or local law or regulation to any governmental agency or entity; to communicate with any government agencies or otherwise participate in any investigation or proceeding that may be conducted by any government agencies in connection with any charge or complaint, whether filed by Executive, on Executive’s behalf, or by any other individual; or to make other disclosures that are protected under the whistleblower provisions of federal, state, or local law or regulation, and Executive shall not need the prior authorization of Employer to make any such reports or disclosures and shall not be required to notify Employer that Executive has made such reports or disclosures. In addition, and anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, Executive is hereby given notice that Executive shall not be criminally or civilly liable under any federal or state trade secret law for disclosing a trade secret (as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 1839) in confidence to a federal, state, or local government official, either directly or indirectly, or to an attorney, in either event solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law; or disclosing a trade secret (as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 1839) in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal.
Proprietary Information and Confidentiality Both before and during the term of Executive’s employment, Executive will have access to and become acquainted with Company confidential and proprietary information (together “Proprietary Information”), including but not limited to information or plans concerning the Company’s products and technologies; customer relationships; personnel; sales, marketing and financial operations and methods; trade secrets; formulae and secret developments and inventions; processes; and other compilations of information, records, and specifications. Executive will not disclose any of the Proprietary Information directly or indirectly, or use it in any way, either during his/her employment pursuant to this Agreement or at any time thereafter, except as reasonably required or specifically requested in the course of his/her employment with the Company or as authorized in writing by the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Proprietary Information does not include information that is otherwise publicly known or available, provided it has not become public as a result of a breach of this Agreement or any other agreement Executive has to keep information confidential. It is not a breach of this Agreement for Executive to disclose Proprietary Information (i) pursuant to an order of a court or other governmental or legal body or (ii) in connection with Protected Activity (as defined below). Executive understands that nothing in this Agreement shall in any way limit or prohibit Executive from engaging in any Protected Activity. For purposes of this Agreement, “Protected Activity” means filing a charge or complaint with, or otherwise communicating or cooperating with or participating in any investigation or proceeding that may be conducted by any federal, state or local government agency or commission, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the National Labor Relations Board (“Government Agencies”). Executive understands that in connection with such Protected Activity, Executive is permitted to disclose documents or other information as permitted by law, and without giving notice to, or receiving authorization from, the Company. Notwithstanding, in making any such disclosures or communications, Executive agrees to take all reasonable precautions to prevent any unauthorized use or disclosure of any information that may constitute Proprietary Information to any parties other than the Government Agencies. Executive further understands that “Protected Activity” does not include the disclosure of any Company attorney-client privileged communications. In addition, Executive hereby acknowledges that the Company has provided Executive with notice in compliance with the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 regarding immunity from liability for limited disclosures of trade secrets. The full text of the notice is attached in Exhibit B.
