Who owns the confidential information furnished by Buff City Soap to the Developer?
Buff_City_Soap Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
During your employment with Employer you may have access to, or be provided with, documents or other materials that constitute Confidential Information, and you acknowledge that information included as Confidential Information may be in the form of hard copy documents, electronic documents or files or information stored in or on any other media. By signing this Agreement you agree that Franchisor is the sole and exclusive owner of all such Confidential Information regardless of its form and, upon termination or cessation of your employment with Employer for any reason, you will immediately return to Employer all of the Confidential Information you may have, and you will retain no copies (whether in hard copy, electronic or other form) of any Confidential Information.
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.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 69–186)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Buff City Soap's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Buff City Soap Franchising, LLC is the sole and exclusive owner of all confidential information, regardless of its form. This includes information in hard copy, electronic documents, files, or any other media. This definition is part of the Operator's Confidentiality and Non-Compete Agreement.
This means that as a franchisee, you acknowledge that all confidential information provided to you, or accessed by you or your employees, in connection with the Franchise Agreement or the operation of a Buff City Soap makery, is owned by Buff City Soap. This includes, but is not limited to, the operations and training manuals, standards, product formulations, sourcing, pricing, technology, software, marketing programs, customer data, and financial data.
Upon termination or cessation of employment, you must immediately return all confidential information and retain no copies. This underscores the importance of protecting Buff City Soap's proprietary information, as its unauthorized use or disclosure could have legal and financial repercussions for the franchisee. This is a fairly standard clause in franchise agreements, as franchisors need to protect their intellectual property and trade secrets.
Franchisee also 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.