Under what circumstances is All Team's information not considered Confidential Information?
All_Team Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
FRANCHISEE shall not, during the term of this Agreement, or after termination, expiration of the Agreement or Transfer, communicate or divulge to anyone, any information or knowledge concerning the products, services, standards, procedures, techniques, sales information, profit margins, marketing procedures, expansion plans, clients, rates, fees and terms and other information or material which ATFC may designate as confidential, including the Confidential Operations Manual, nor shall FRANCHISEE disclose or divulge in whole or in part any trade secrets or operating procedures of ATFC or its affiliates, customer lists, sales and promotional information, employee lists, financial information furnished or disclosed to FRANCHISEE by ATFC and any other information with respect of ATFC, unless such information is generally known and in the public domain, and except to the extent necessary to operate the Agency ("Confidential Information"). All employees of FRANCHISEE will exercise the highest degree of diligence and make every effort to maintain the absolute confidentiality of all trade secrets and proprietary rights during and after the term of this Agreement, and shall require all supervisory personnel to execute a Confidentiality and Non-Compete Agreement in a form acceptable to ATFC.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD page 27)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to All Team's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, information is not considered confidential if it is generally known and in the public domain, or to the extent necessary to operate the Agency. This exception applies to information concerning products, services, standards, procedures, techniques, sales information, profit margins, marketing procedures, expansion plans, clients, rates, fees, terms, customer lists, sales and promotional information, employee lists, and financial information.
This means that while All Team franchisees are generally bound to protect the confidentiality of the franchisor's proprietary information, there are specific carve-outs. Information that is already widely accessible to the public is not subject to these confidentiality restrictions. Additionally, franchisees are permitted to disclose confidential information if it is essential for the day-to-day operation of their All Team agency.
For a prospective All Team franchisee, this is an important distinction. It clarifies the scope of their confidentiality obligations and provides some leeway for using information as needed to run their business. However, franchisees should exercise caution and seek clarification from All Team if they are unsure whether certain information falls under these exceptions.