Which employees of a Black Bear Diner may be required to sign confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements?
Black_Bear_Diner Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The Franchise Agreement provides that our trade secrets and any information or matter that is competitively sensitive and not generally known by the public, whether or not in written or tangible form and regardless of the media (if any) on which stored, relating to the Black Bear Diner system, including recipes, food specifications, methods and techniques of food preparation, business operating systems and techniques, record-keeping and reporting methods, accounting systems, management systems and techniques, management training techniques, specifications for signs, displays, placemats, menus, bags, containers, business forms, and business stationery to be used by franchisees, designs, drawings, and specifications for business premises, operating manuals for franchisees, ideas, research and development, know-how, lists of franchisees and suppliers, suggested pricing and cost information, and business and marketing plans and proposals which we provide to you in confidence shall be deemed Confidential Information.
You must not divulge Confidential Information to anyone except employees who must have access to it in order to operate your Franchised Restaurant.
Certain individuals having access to Confidential Information, including your shareholders, officers, directors, partners, employees, members, managers and your spouse, may be required to sign nondisclosure and non- competition agreements in a form we approve.
Source: Item 15 — OBLIGATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTUAL OPERATION OF THE FRANCHISED RESTAURANT (FDD page 40)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 FDD, Black Bear Diner requires franchisees to protect the confidentiality of its proprietary information. This includes trade secrets, recipes, food specifications, business operating systems, and other sensitive data not generally known to the public. Franchisees must not share this confidential information with anyone, except employees who need access to it to operate the franchised restaurant.
Black Bear Diner specifies that certain individuals with access to confidential information may be required to sign nondisclosure and non-competition agreements. These individuals include the franchisee's shareholders, officers, directors, partners, employees, members, managers, and even the franchisee's spouse. The specific form of these agreements must be approved by Black Bear Diner.
For a prospective franchisee, this means they should be prepared to ensure that not only their employees but also other related parties such as their spouse or business partners are willing to sign these agreements. This is a fairly standard practice in franchising to protect the franchisor's intellectual property and trade secrets. Franchisees should review the specific terms of the nondisclosure and non-competition agreements carefully to understand the scope of the restrictions and ensure they are reasonable.