Common use of Noncompetition and Related Matters Clause in Contracts

Noncompetition and Related Matters. (a) The Employee acknowledges that during the term of his employment with the Company, the Company has provided and will continue to provide to him, and he has received and will continue to receive from the Company, special training and knowledge. The Employee acknowledges that included in the special knowledge received is the confidential information identified in Paragraph 9. The Employee acknowledges that this confidential information is valuable to the Company and, therefore, its protection and maintenance constitutes a legitimate interest to be protected by the Company by the enforcement of this covenant not to compete. Therefore, the Employee agrees that, in consideration of the foregoing during the Employment Term and for a period commencing upon the termination of the Employee’s employment hereunder and ending upon the date which is 18 months from the termination of Employee’s employment hereunder, unless otherwise extended pursuant to the terms of this Paragraph 8, the Employee will not, directly or indirectly, either as an employee, employer, consultant, agent, principal, partner, shareholder, corporate officer, director, or in any other individual or representative capacity, engage or participate in any business or activity that is involved in leasing, acquiring, exploring, producing, gathering or marketing coal bed methane and related products; provided that nothing in this Paragraph 8 shall be construed to prevent the Employee from owning beneficially, as an investment, up to an aggregate of five percent of a class of equity securities that is publicly traded and registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; provided further that nothing in this Paragraph 8 shall be construed to prevent the Employee from engaging or participating as an employee, employer, consultant, agent, principal, partner, shareholder, corporate officer, director, or in any other individual or representative capacity in a business venture which derived during the last fiscal year less than 25% of its gross revenues from or is a start-up or new venture formed for the primary purpose of leasing, acquiring, exploring, producing, gathering or marketing of coalbed methane, is not in direct competition with the Company, and would not require the Employee to use or disclose any confidential information identified in Paragraph 9. The Employee represents to the Company that the enforcement of the restriction contained in this Paragraph 8(a) would not be unduly burdensome to the Employee and that in order to induce the Company to employ the Employee the Employee further represents and acknowledges that the Employee is willing and able to compete in other areas of business not prohibited by this Paragraph 8(a).