How must Annex Brands secure the PostalMate Product?
Annex_Brands Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
rmitted herein.
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- Security. End User agrees to keep the Product locked in a secured place, under access and use restrictions designed to prevent disclosure of the Product to unauthorized persons in a manner substantially similar to End User's protection of its own trade secrets.
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- Degree of Care. End User agrees to instruct its employees, independent contractors, representatives and agents to keep the Product confidential by using the same care and discretion that they use with other data designated by End User as confidential.
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- Copyrights, Trademarks and Other Proprietary Markings. End User agrees not to remove, deface or destroy any copyright, patent notice, trademark, service mark, other proprietary markings and/or confidential legends placed on or within the Product. All copies of the Product provided to End User pursuant to this Agreement will carry notices of PostalMate's copyrights and trademarks and notice that Master Licensee is the exclusive Licensee of PostalMate. Failure by End User to properly mark any copies or reproductions made to the above will constitute a material default of this Agreement and will be grounds for termination hereof.
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- Payment. As payment for the sublicense granted under this Agreement, End User will pay Master Licensee an initial license fee of $250, an annual license fee of $35 and a maintenance fee of $$105 payable monthly on the 1st of the month to PostalMate by automatic draft or credit card. Both the annual license fee and the monthly maintenance fee are subject to Master Licensee's right to modify the maintenance fee and/or license fee, in its reasonable discretion, after at least 15 days' prior written notice to End User.
Source: Item 22 — Contracts (FDD pages 109–110)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Annex Brands's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, as an end user of the PostalMate product, franchisees must adhere to specific security measures to protect the confidentiality and proprietary rights of the software. Franchisees are required to keep the PostalMate Product locked in a secured place with access and use restrictions. This secured place should prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing the product. The level of security should be substantially similar to the protection the franchisee uses for their own trade secrets.
Annex Brands franchisees must also instruct their employees, independent contractors, representatives, and agents to maintain the confidentiality of the PostalMate Product. This instruction should ensure they use the same level of care and discretion as they would with the franchisee's own confidential data. Franchisees are prohibited from removing, defacing, or destroying any copyright, patent, trademark, service mark, or other proprietary markings on the PostalMate Product. All copies of the product must include notices of PostalMate's copyrights and trademarks.
Furthermore, franchisees are responsible for implementing procedures to prevent misuse, unauthorized copying, modification, or disclosure of the PostalMate Product. They must also prevent any attempts to decode, decompile, reverse engineer, or otherwise alter the product. Franchisees are responsible for preventing the reproduction or duplication of any copies of the product, except as expressly allowed in the agreement. They are also prohibited from transferring, reselling, or granting any rights to the product to any other party. These security measures are crucial for protecting PostalMate's intellectual property and maintaining the integrity of the software.