Exempted information. The obligations set out in Section 14.1 shall not apply to any information which:
(a) is public knowledge and readily publicly accessible as of the date of such disclosure;
(b) becomes public knowledge and readily publicly accessible, other than as a result of a breach of this ARTICLE XIV; or
(c) has been publicly filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Exempted information. Information that the Receiving Party can establish:
(a) was in the Receiving Party's possession before receipt from the Disclosing Party;
(b) is or becomes known to the general public without improper action or inaction by the Receiving Party;
(c) was rightfully disclosed to it by a third party, provided the Receiving Party complies with any restrictions imposed by the third party;
(d) is independently developed by the Receiving Party without the use of the Confidential Information provided by the Disclosing Party;
(e) is disclosed pursuant to a court order provided the Receiving Party uses reasonable efforts to limit disclosure and has allowed the Disclosing Party to participate in the proceeding or;
(f) is disclosed by the Receiving Party with the Disclosing Party's prior written approval; shall not be considered Confidential Information hereunder.
Exempted information. The terms of this Section will not apply to any Confidential Information that: (a) becomes known to the general public through no fault of the receiving party; (b) was known to the receiving party prior to execution of this Agreement; (c) is learned by the receiving party after execution of this Agreement from a source authorized to disclose such information without restriction; (d) information that is required to be published under the securities laws of the United States or (e) is required to be disclosed in any legal proceeding, provided such disclosure is made only after notice to the owner of the Confidential Information and such disclosure occurs pursuant to a protective order reasonably acceptable to the owner of the Confidential Information. A party claiming that Confidential Information is subject to any of these exemptions will have the burden of proving that such exemption applies.
