What is the Buff City Soap franchisee's obligation regarding the non-disclosure of confidential information?
Buff_City_Soap Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchisee and its Principals each acknowledges that Franchisor may provide Franchisee and its Principals with Confidential Information that derives value from not being generally known in the industry and that are reasonably necessary for the operation of the Makery and, further, that Franchisee has entered into this Agreement in order to use such Confidential Information to the economic benefit of Franchisee.
Franchisee agrees that Confidential Information remains the sole property of Franchisor.
Franchisor will take reasonable steps to mark as "confidential" or "proprietary" any Confidential Information that it deems as such, but the failure to mark such Confidential Information will not cause it to be public information or otherwise not protected as Confidential Information.
Franchisee and each of its Principals will not use, duplicate or disclose to others any Confidential Information except as expressly authorized by Franchisor in writing and will implement measures to maintain the confidentiality of such Confidential Information that is no less strict than the measures Franchisee uses with its own confidential information.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 69–186)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Buff City Soap Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees and their principals must acknowledge that Buff City Soap may provide them with confidential information that has value because it is not generally known in the industry. This information is considered reasonably necessary for operating the Makery (a Buff City Soap shop), and the franchisee enters the agreement to use this confidential information for their economic benefit.
The franchisee agrees that all confidential information remains the sole property of Buff City Soap. Buff City Soap will take reasonable steps to mark confidential information as such, but even if it is not marked, it is still protected as confidential information.
The franchisee and their principals are prohibited from using, duplicating, or disclosing any confidential information to others unless expressly authorized in writing by Buff City Soap. They must also implement measures to maintain the confidentiality of the information, using measures that are no less strict than those they use to protect their own confidential information. This obligation ensures that the franchisee understands the importance of protecting Buff City Soap's proprietary information and takes appropriate steps to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure.