Unfair Competition I acknowledge that the Company has a compelling business interest in preventing unfair competition stemming from the intentional or inadvertent use or disclosure of the Company’s Trade Secret and Proprietary Information and Company Property.
Competition By accepting this Contract, Contractor agrees that no collusion or other restraint of free competitive bidding, either directly or indirectly, has occurred in connection with this award by the Division of Purchases.
No Competition Employee's employment is subject to the condition that during the term of his employment hereunder and for the period specified in paragraph 8(c) below, Employee shall not, directly or indirectly, own, manage, operate, control or participate in the ownership, management, operation or control of, or be connected as an officer, employee, partner, director, individual proprietor, lender, consultant or otherwise with, or have any financial interest in, or aid or assist anyone else in the conduct of, any entity or business (a "Competitive Operation") which competes in the banking industry or with any other business conducted by Employer or by any group, affiliate, division or subsidiary of Employer, in the states of New York and Pennsylvania. Employee shall keep Employer fully advised as to any activity, interest, or investment Employee may have in any way related to the banking industry. It is understood and agreed that, for the purposes of the foregoing provisions of this paragraph, (i) no business shall be deemed to be a business conducted by Employer or any group, division, affiliate or subsidiary of Employer unless 5% or more of Employer's consolidated gross sales or operating revenues is derived from, or 5% or more of Employer's consolidated assets are devoted to, such business; (ii) no business conducted by any entity by which Employee is employed or in which he is interested or with which he is connected or associated shall be deemed competitive with any business conducted by Employer or any group, division or subsidiary of Employer unless it is one from which 2% or more of its consolidated gross sales or operating revenues is derived, or to which 2% or more of its consolidated assets are devoted; and (iii) no business which is conducted by Employer at the Date of Termination and which subsequently is sold by Employer shall, after such sale, be deemed to be a Competitive Operation within the meaning of this paragraph. Ownership of not more than 5% of the voting stock of any publicly held corporation shall not constitute a violation of this paragraph.
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.
Confidentiality and Non-Competition To the Company’s knowledge, no director, officer, key employee or consultant of the Company is subject to any confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-competition agreement or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or prior employer that could reasonably be expected to materially affect his ability to be and act in his respective capacity of the Company or be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.
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.
Confidentiality and Non-Competitions To the Company’s knowledge, no director, officer, key employee or consultant of the Company is subject to any confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-competition agreement or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or prior employer that could reasonably be expected to materially affect his ability to be and act in his respective capacity of the Company or be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.
Confidentiality; Non-Competition (a) Executive agrees that he will not, at any time during or after the Term, make use of or divulge to any other person, firm or corporation any trade or business secret, process, method or means, or any other confidential information concerning the business or policies of the Company, which he may have learned in connection with his employment. For purposes of this Agreement, a "trade or business secret, process, method or means, or any other confidential information" shall mean and include written information reasonably treated as confidential or as a trade secret by the Company. Executive's obligation under this Section 4.3 (a) shall not apply to any information which (i) is known publicly; (ii) is in the public domain or hereafter enters the public domain without the fault of Executive; (iii) is known to Executive prior to his receipt of such information from the Company, as evidenced by written records of Executive or (iv) is hereafter disclosed to Executive by a third party not under an obligation of confidence to the Company. Executive agrees not to remove from the premises of the Company, except as an employee of the Company in pursuit of the business of the Company or except as specifically permitted in writing by the Company, any document or other object containing or reflecting any such confidential information. Executive recognizes that all such documents and objects, whether developed by him or by someone else, will be the sole exclusive property of the Company. Upon termination of his employment hereunder, Executive shall forthwith deliver to the Company all such confidential information, including without limitation all lists of customers, correspondence, accounts, records and any other documents or property made or held by him or under his control in relation to the business or affairs of the Company, and no copy of any such confidential information shall be retained by him.
(b) If Executive's employment is terminated for any reason other than for Cause, Executive shall not for a period of one year from the date of such termination, directly or indirectly, whether as an employee, consultant, independent contractor, partner, or joint venturer, (i) perform any services for a competitor which has material operations which directly compete with the Company in the sale of any products sold by the Company at the time of the termination of Executive's employment; (ii) solicit or induce, or in any manner attempt to solicit or induce, any person employed by, or as agent of, the Company to terminate such person's contract of employment or agency, as the case may be, with the Company or (iii) divert, or attempt to divert, any person, concern, or entity from doing business with the Company, nor will he attempt to induce any such person, concern or entity to cease being a customer or supplier of the Company. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, this Section 4.3(b) shall not prevent Executive from acquiring securities representing not more than 5% of the outstanding voting securities of any publicly held corporation.
Loyalty; Noncompetition (a) During the period of his employment hereunder and except for illnesses, reasonable vacation periods, and reasonable leaves of absence, the Executive shall devote substantially all his full business time, attention, skill, and efforts to the faithful performance of his duties hereunder; provided, however, from time to time, Executive may serve on the boards of directors of, and hold any other offices or positions in, companies or organizations, at the request of the Company or which will not present, in the opinion of the Board, any conflict of interest with the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, nor unfavorably affect the performance of Executive’s duties pursuant to this Agreement, nor violate any applicable statute or regulation. “Full business time” is hereby defined as that amount of time usually devoted to like companies by similarly situated executive officers. During the Term of his employment under this Agreement, the Executive shall not engage in any business or activity contrary to the business affairs or interests of the Company.
(b) Nothing contained in this Paragraph 7 shall be deemed to prevent or limit the Executive’s right to invest in the capital stock or other securities of any business dissimilar from that of the Company or, solely as a passive or minority investor, in any business.
Noncompetition; Nonsolicitation (a) The Executive acknowledges that in the course of his employment with the Company pursuant to this Agreement he will become familiar, and during the course of his employment by the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or any predecessor thereof prior to the date of this Agreement he has become familiar, with trade secrets and customer lists of and other confidential information concerning the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates and predecessors thereof and that his services have been and will be of special, unique and extraordinary value to the Company.
(b) The Executive agrees that during the Employment Period and for one year thereafter in the case of either Termination for Good Reason following a Change in Control or Termination without Cause, or for two years thereafter in the case of termination of employment for any other reason, the (“Noncompetition Period”) he shall not in any manner, directly or indirectly, through any person, firm or corporation, alone or as a member of a partnership or as an officer, director, stockholder, investor or employee of or in any other corporation or enterprise or otherwise, engage or be engaged, or assist any other person, firm corporation or enterprise in engaging or being engaged, in any business then actively being conducted by the Company in any geographic area in which the Company is conducting such business (whether through manufacturing or production, calling on customers or prospective customers, or otherwise). Notwithstanding the foregoing, subsequent to the Employment Period the Executive may engage or be engaged, or assist any other person, firm, corporation or enterprise in engaging or being engaged, in any business activity which is not competitive with a business activity being conducted by the Company at the time subsequent to the Employment Period that the Executive first engages or assists in such business activity.
(c) The Executive further agrees that during the Noncompetition Period he shall not in any manner, directly or indirectly (i) induce or attempt to induce any employee of the Company or of any of its subsidiaries or affiliates to terminate or abandon his employment, or any customer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates to terminate or abandon its relationship, for any purpose whatsoever, or (ii) in connection with any business to which Section 6(b) applies, call on, service, solicit or otherwise do business with any then current or prospective customer of the Company or of any of its subsidiaries or affiliates.
(d) Nothing in this Section 6 shall prohibit the Executive from being (i) a stockholder in a mutual fund or a diversified investment company or (ii) a passive owner of not more than 2% of the outstanding stock of any class of a corporation any securities of which are publicly traded, so long as the Executive has no active participation in the business of such corporation.
(e) If, at the time of enforcement of this Section 6, a court holds that the restrictions stated herein are unreasonable under circumstances then existing, the parties hereto agree that the maximum period, scope or geographical area reasonable under such circumstances shall be substituted for the stated period, scope or area and that the court shall be allowed to revise the restrictions contained herein to cover the maximum period, scope and area permitted by law.
