NATURAL HEALTH TRENDS CORP. NON-COMPETITION AND PROPRIETARY RIGHTS ASSIGNMENT AGREEMENT
Exhibit 10.2
NON-COMPETITION AND PROPRIETARY RIGHTS
ASSIGNMENT AGREEMENT
ASSIGNMENT AGREEMENT
Employee’s Name: Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx (“Employee”)
Date: July 31, 2006
In consideration of Employee’s employment by or other similar relationship with Natural
Health Trends Corp. (including their subsidiaries, successors and assigns, the “Company”)
and in consideration for and as a condition to the transactions contemplated by that certain
Letter Agreement dated as of the date hereof by and between the Company and the Employee,
the Employee hereby agrees with the Company as follows:
1. Confidential Information. During the term of this Agreement and in the course of
Employee’s performance of services for the Company, Employee may receive and otherwise be exposed
to confidential or competitively sensitive information of the Company, or of a third party with
which the Company has a business relationship, relating to the Company’s or such third party’s
current or prospective business, research and development activities, products, technology,
strategy, organization and/or finances (collectively, “Confidential Information”). Such
Confidential Information, which may be disclosed orally or in writing, shall include, without
limitation, Technology (as defined in Section 2(a)), Work Product (as defined in Section 2(a)),
plans, strategies, negotiations, customer or prospect identities, market analyses, projections,
forecasts, cost and performance data, sales data, financial statements, price lists, pre-release
information regarding the Company’s products, personnel lists and data, and all documents and other
materials (including any notes, drawings, reports, manuals, notebooks, summaries, extracts or
analyses), whether in written or electronic form, that disclose or embody such Confidential
Information.
Confidential Information shall not include information that is now, or hereafter becomes,
through no act or failure to act on Employee’s part, generally known to the public; information
that was rightfully in Employee’s possession without confidentiality restriction prior to the
Company’s disclosure to Employee; information that was rightfully obtained by Employee from a third
party who has the right, without obligation to the Company, to transfer or disclose such
information; or information which Employee is required to disclose pursuant to judicial order,
provided that in the latter case Employee shall promptly notify the Company and take reasonable
steps to assist the Company in protecting the Company’s rights prior to disclosure. At all times,
both during Employee’s relationship with the Company and after the termination thereof, Employee
will keep all Confidential Information in strict confidence; will not use Confidential Information
except for the purpose of providing services to the Company; and will not divulge, publish,
disclose or communicate Confidential Information, in whole or in part, to any third party.
Employee further agrees that Employee will not allow any unauthorized person access to Confidential
Information, either before or after the termination of this Agreement, and will take all action
reasonably necessary and satisfactory to the Company to protect the confidentiality of Confidential
Information. Employee agrees not to reproduce or copy by any means Confidential Information,
except as reasonably required to accomplish the purposes of this Agreement, and further agrees not
to remove any proprietary rights legend from such Confidential Information or copies thereof made
in accordance with this Agreement. Upon termination of Employee’s services for any reason, or upon
demand by the Company at any
time, Employee’s right to use Confidential Information shall immediately terminate, and
Employee shall return promptly to the Company, or destroy, at the Company’s option, all tangible
and electronic materials that disclose or embody Confidential Information.
2. Assignment of Work Product.
| (a) | For purposes of this Agreement: “Technology” shall mean all ideas, concepts, inventions, discoveries, developments, creations, methods, techniques, processes, machines, products, devices, compositions of matter, improvements, modifications, designs, systems, specifications, schematics, formulas, mask works, works of authorship, software, algorithms, data and know-how, whether or not patentable or copyrightable, and all related notes, drawings, reports, manuals, notebooks, summaries, memoranda and other documentation; “Intellectual Property Rights” shall mean all worldwide intellectual property rights including, without limitation, all rights relating to the protection of inventions, including patents, patent applications and certificates of invention; all rights associated with works of authorship, including copyrights and moral rights; all rights relating to the protection of trade secrets and confidential information; all rights related to the protection of trademarks, logos and service marks; any rights analogous to those set forth herein, and all other proprietary rights related to intangible property; and “Work Product” shall mean any and all Technology made, conceived, designed, created, discovered, invented or reduced to practice by Employee during the term of this Agreement that (i) results from Employee’s performance of services for the Company, (ii) is related to the business of the Company or (iii) is based upon the use of Confidential Information. | ||
| (b) | Employee agrees to promptly disclose to the Company in writing all Work Product upon the development, conception or creation thereof by Employee, as well as, at any time, upon the request of the Company. | ||
| (c) | Employee agrees that all Work Product shall be the sole and exclusive property of the Company, and does hereby irrevocably and unconditionally transfer and assign to the Company, its successors and assigns, all right, title and interest it may have or acquire in or to any Work Product, including all Intellectual Property Rights therein. Employee further agrees that any and all works of authorship created, authored or developed by Employee hereunder shall be deemed to be “works made for hire” within the meaning of the United States copyright law and, as such, all rights therein including copyright shall belong solely and exclusively to the Company from the time of their creation. To the extent any such work of authorship may not be deemed to be a work made for hire, Employee agrees to, and does hereby, irrevocably and unconditionally transfer and assign to the Company all right, title, and interest including copyright in and to such work. | ||
| (d) | Upon request by the Company, Employee agrees to execute and deliver all such documents, certificates, assignments and other writings, and take such other actions, as may be necessary or desirable to vest in the Company ownership in |
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| all Work Product as provided in this Section 2, including, but not limited to, the execution and delivery of all applications for securing all United States and foreign patents, copyrights and other intellectual property rights relating to Work Product. The Company shall reimburse Employee for any reasonable expenses incurred by Employee at the Company’s request to secure title or legal protection on the Company’s behalf for any such Work Product. In the event that the Company is unable to secure Employee’s signature to any document, or if Employee otherwise fails to take any action deemed necessary by the Company to protect or maintain the Company’s ownership of Work Product and Intellectual Property Rights therein, then the Company may, and Employee hereby irrevocably designates and appoints the Company and its duly authorized officers and agents as Employee’s agent and attorney-in-fact to act on and in Employee’s behalf and stead to, execute and file any such applications and perform all other lawfully permitted acts to perfect Employee’s assignment and transfer of ownership rights to the Company with the same legal force and effect as if executed, filed and performed by Employee. | |||
| (e) | For purposes of this Section 2(e), “Background Technology” shall mean Technology owned by or licensed to Employee as of the Effective Date of this Agreement or developed or otherwise obtained by Employee following the Effective Date hereof independently of the performance of services hereunder by Employee. The Company acquires no rights in the Background Technology, except as specifically provided in this Agreement and, as between the parties, Employee retains all rights therein. Employee hereby grants to Company a royalty-free, worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual, sublicensable and irrevocable right and license to use, for all purposes in Company’s business, Background Technology that has been disclosed by Employee to Company or that is embodied within or related to the use, operation or improvement of Work Product created by Employee in connection with Employee’s performance of services for the Company. |
3. Representation. Employee hereby represents to the Company that the Work Product
Employee creates under this Agreement will be original, and that Employee’s performance of services
under this agreement and the Company’s use of Employee’s Work Product will not breach any agreement
Employee has with any third party or the intellectual property rights or other rights of any third
party.
4. Return of Materials. All documents, records, apparatus, equipment and other
physical property, whether or not pertaining to Confidential Information, which are furnished to
Employee by the Company or are produced by Employee in connection with Employee’s services will be
and remain the sole property of the Company. Employee will return to the Company all such
materials and property as and when requested by the Company. In any event, Employee will return
all such materials and property immediately upon termination of Employee’s services for any reason.
Employee will not retain any such material or property or any copies thereof upon such
termination.
5. Competitive Activities. From the date hereof until the six (6) month anniversary
of the later of the date on which Employee no longer is employed by the Company, serves as a
consultant to the Company or serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company (the
“Non-Compete
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Restricted Period”), Employee will not, directly or indirectly, whether as owner, partner,
shareholder, director, agent, employee, co-venturer or otherwise, without the written consent of
the Company, engage, participate or invest in any business activity with respect to any multi-level
marketing or direct sales organization that indirectly or directly competes with the Company in
recruiting for independent distributors (collectively, the “Competitive Activities”). The
prohibition set forth in this Section 5 shall not restrict Employee from owning or holding up to
two percent (2%) of the shares of stock of any company registered or sold on any recognized stock
exchange or sold in the over-the-counter market. Employee understands and agrees that the
restrictions set forth in this Section 5 are intended to protect the Company’s reasonable
competitive business interests, its interest in its Confidential Information and established and
prospective customer relationships and goodwill, and agree that such restrictions are reasonable
and appropriate for this purpose.
6. Nonsolicitation of Customers and Distributors. During the Non-Compete Restricted
Period plus six (6) months (the “Nonsolicitation Period”), Employee will not, in any capacity,
directly or indirectly:
| (a) | solicit business or patronage of any customer or prospective customer (collectively, “Customer”), or distributor or prospective distributor (collectively, “Distributor”) of the Company in connection with any Competitive Activity; | ||
| (b) | divert, entice, or otherwise take away from the Company the business or patronage of any Customer or Distributor, or attempt to do so; | ||
| (c) | solicit, induce or assist any Customer, Distributor or supplier to terminate or reduce its relationship with the Company; | ||
| (d) | assist with the provision of any services to a Customer or Distributor (except in Employee’s capacity as an employee of the Company); or | ||
| (e) | refer a Customer, Distributor or supplier to another person engaged (or to be engaged) in Competitive Activities. |
7. Nonsolicitation of Employees. During the Nonsolicitation Period, Employee will
not:
| (a) | hire or employ, directly or indirectly through any enterprise with which Employee is associated, any current employee of the Company or any individual who had been employed by the Company within one (1) year preceding Employee’s termination (other than persons whose employment by the Company was terminated by or at the request of the Company); or | ||
| (b) | recruit, solicit or induce (or in any way assist another person or enterprise in recruiting, soliciting or inducing) any employee or director of the Company to terminate his or her employment or other relationship with the Company. |
8. Acknowledgments. Employee acknowledges and agrees that the restrictions set forth
in this Agreement are intended to protect the Company’s interest in Confidential Information and
its commercial relationships and goodwill (with its Customers, Distributors, vendors, directors and
employees), and are reasonable and appropriate for these purposes.
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9. Disclosure of Agreement. Employee will disclose the existence and terms of this
Agreement to any prospective employer, partner, co-venturer, investor or lender prior to entering
into an employment, partnership or other business relationship with such person or entity.
10. Third-Party Agreements and Rights. Employee hereby confirms that Employee is not
bound by the terms of any agreement with any previous employer or other party which restricts in
any way Employee’s use or disclosure of information or Employee’s engagement in any business,
except as may be disclosed in Schedule A attached to this Agreement prior to its acceptance
by the Company. Employee has delivered to the Company true and complete copies of any agreements
listed on Schedule A. Employee represents to the Company that Employee’s execution of this
Agreement, Employee’s employment with the Company and the performance of Employee’s proposed duties
for the Company will not violate any obligations Employee may have to any such previous employer or
other party. In Employee’s work for the Company, Employee will not disclose or make use of any
information in violation of any agreements with or rights of any such previous employer or other
party, and Employee will not bring to the premises of the Company any copies or other tangible
embodiments of non-public information belonging to or obtained from any such previous employment or
other party.
11. Injunction. Employee agrees that it would be difficult to measure any damages
caused to the Company which might result from any breach by Employee of the promises set forth in
this Agreement, and that in any event money damages would be an inadequate remedy for any such
breach. Accordingly, Employee agrees that if Employee breaches, or proposes to breach, any portion
of this Agreement, the Company shall be entitled, in addition to all other remedies that it may
have, to an injunction or other appropriate equitable relief to restrain any such breach without
showing or proving any actual damage to the Company.
12. Binding Effect. This Agreement will be binding upon Employee and Employee’s
heirs, executors, administrators and legal representatives and will inure to the benefit of the
Company, any subsidiary of the Company, and its and their respective successors and assigns.
13. Enforceability. If any portion or provision of this Agreement is to any extent
declared illegal or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, then the remainder of this
Agreement, or the application of such portion or provision in circumstances other than those as to
which it is so declared illegal or unenforceable, will not be affected thereby, and each portion
and provision of this Agreement shall be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by
law. In the event that any provision of this Agreement is determined by any court of competent
jurisdiction to be unenforceable by reason of excessive scope as to geographic, temporal or
functional coverage, such provision will be deemed to extend only over the maximum geographic,
temporal and functional scope as to which it may be enforceable.
14. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the
Company and Employee with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all prior
representations and agreements with respect to such subject matter. This Agreement may not be
amended, modified or waived except by a written instrument duly executed by the person against whom
enforcement of such amendment, modification or waiver is sought. The failure of any party to
require the performance of any term or obligation of this Agreement, or the waiver by any party of
any breach of this Agreement, in any particular case will not prevent any subsequent enforcement of
such term or obligation or to be deemed a waiver of any separate or subsequent breach.
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15. Notices. Any notices, requests, demands and other communications provided for by
this Agreement will be sufficient if in writing and delivered in person or sent by registered or
certified mail, postage prepaid, to Employee at the last address which Employee has filed in
writing with the Company or, in the case of any notice to the Company, at its main offices, to the
attention of the undersigned officer.
16. Governing Law. The validity, interpretation, performance and enforcement of this
agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without applying the conflict of
laws provisions thereof.
17. Arbitration. All disputes between Parties in connection with arising out of the
existence, validity, construction, performance and termination of this Agreement shall be finally
settled by arbitration. The arbitration shall be held in the Dallas, Texas in accordance with the
Rules of the American Arbitration Association by one or more arbitrators appointed in accordance
with the said Rules and the award of such arbitrators shall be final and binding upon the Parties.
The non-prevailing party shall pay for all reasonable costs and expenses incurred in connection
with such dispute, including filing and arbitrator fees as well as the reasonable costs and
expenses of opposing legal counsel.
EMPLOYEE UNDERSTANDS THAT THIS AGREEMENT AFFECTS IMPORTANT RIGHTS. EMPLOYEE HAS READ IT CAREFULLY
AND IS SATISFIED THAT EMPLOYEE UNDERSTANDS IT COMPLETELY.
| NATURAL HEALTH TRENDS CORP. |
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| By: | /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx | |||
| Name: | Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx | |||
| Title: | Chairman of the Board | |||
Dated: July 28, 2006
| EMPLOYEE |
||||
| By: | /s/ Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx | |||
| Name: | Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx | |||
Dated: July 28, 2006
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