Regarding Bonchon's Beta Services, is the franchisee's use of these services considered confidential, and under what conditions might this confidentiality be waived?
Bonchon Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You agree that you will not, during the Term of this Agreement or thereafter, divulge to or use for the benefit of any other person(s), partnership, proprietorship, association, corporation or entity, any confidential information, knowledge or know-how concerning your or our systems of operation, programs, services, products, customers or practices and/or pertaining to the Bonchon System which may be communicated to you. Any and all information, knowledge, know-how, techniques and information which we, our affiliates, or their respective officers, designate as confidential will be deemed confidential for the purposes of this Agreement, except information which you can demonstrate came to your attention before our disclosure or which, at or after the time of our disclosure to you, has become a part of the public domain through publication or communication by others.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 92–536)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bonchon's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are restricted from divulging confidential information related to the Bonchon system. The FDD specifies that franchisees must not disclose or use confidential information concerning the Bonchon system's operations, programs, services, products, customers, or practices for the benefit of any other person or entity. This restriction applies both during and after the term of the franchise agreement.
The definition of "Confidential Information" is broad, encompassing any information, knowledge, or know-how related to the Bonchon system. This includes, but is not limited to, elements of the Bonchon system, products, services, equipment, technologies, recipes, preparation techniques, policies, standards, manuals, specifications, sources of supply, procedures, systems, techniques, activities, and pricing paradigms. The FDD also states that any information designated as confidential by Bonchon, its affiliates, or their officers is deemed confidential.
The franchisee's obligation to protect confidential information is waived only if the franchisee can demonstrate that the information was already known to them before disclosure by Bonchon, or if the information has become part of the public domain through publication or communication by others. This means that if the information is already publicly available or was known to the franchisee prior to their involvement with Bonchon, it is not considered confidential under the terms of the franchise agreement.