Does the Aw franchise agreement require the franchisee to cease using Confidential Information 'in any business or otherwise' after termination?

According to Aw's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are required to cease using Confidential Information in any business or otherwise upon termination or expiration of the franchise agreement. Specifically, the franchisee must stop using the Confidential Information disclosed to them and return all copies of the Operations Manual, proprietary software, and other materials containing Aw's proprietary information. This obligation takes effect immediately after the termination or expiration of the agreement without renewal.

This provision is fairly standard in franchising, as franchisors need to protect their trade secrets and proprietary information. The definition of "Confidential Information" for Aw includes methods, techniques, formats, specifications, procedures, information, systems and knowledge of and experience in the development, operation, and franchising of Papa Ray's Pizza Restaurants; source of supply, ordering and inventory control and methods of providing the products and services sold at Papa Ray's Pizza Restaurants; recipes and methods for preparation of food products; knowledge of sales and profit performance of any one or more Papa Ray's Pizza Restaurants; knowledge of test programs, concepts or results relating to new services and products; sources of products; advertising, marketing and promotional programs; construction, lay-out, equipping and decoration of Papa Ray's Pizza Restaurants; selection and training of Papa Ray's Pizza Restaurant managers and other personnel; methods of training managers and other employees; and contents of the Operations Manual or other written material provided to you in whatever media.

For a prospective Aw franchisee, this means that after the franchise agreement ends, they cannot use any of Aw's confidential information to operate any other business. This includes using the Operations Manual, recipes, or any other proprietary information. This restriction is in place to protect Aw's competitive advantage and prevent former franchisees from unfairly competing with the brand. Failure to comply with this provision could result in legal action from Aw.