Does the Aw franchise agreement specify that the franchisee must cease using Confidential Information disclosed pursuant to the agreement upon termination?

According to Aw's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchise agreement explicitly states that upon termination or expiration of the agreement, the franchisee must immediately stop using any Confidential Information disclosed during the agreement. This includes returning all copies of the Operations Manual, proprietary software, and any other materials containing Aw's proprietary information that were loaned to the franchisee. This obligation is designed to protect Aw's trade secrets and proprietary business methods.

This provision is standard in franchising, as franchisors need to ensure their confidential information is not used by former franchisees to compete against the system. The definition of "Confidential Information" is broad, encompassing various aspects of the Aw business, including methods, techniques, recipes, knowledge of sales and profit performance, marketing programs, and the contents of the Operations Manual.

For a prospective Aw franchisee, this means understanding that access to Aw's confidential information is strictly limited to the duration of the franchise agreement. After the agreement ends, all rights to use this information cease, and the franchisee must take steps to ensure they no longer utilize it in any business or capacity. Failure to comply could result in legal action from Aw to protect its intellectual property.