Is the franchisee required to treat the Bumper Man Manual as confidential information?

According to Bumper Man's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are required to treat the Bumper Man Manual as confidential information. The manual is provided to the franchisee "on loan" for the term of the agreement. Franchisees must also maintain the information within the manual as Confidential Information. Upon expiration or termination of the franchise agreement, all hard copies of the manual must be returned to Bumper Man immediately.

If a franchisee's copy of the manual is lost, destroyed, or significantly damaged, they can obtain a replacement copy, but it will be at the franchisee's expense. As of the effective date of the franchise agreement, the cost to replace the manual is $500. Franchisees are also expected to use the digital version of the manual available on the Intranet.

This requirement ensures that Bumper Man's operational standards and proprietary information remain protected. Unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential information, including the manual, can lead to termination of the franchise agreement. Franchisees must implement measures to maintain the confidentiality of such information, no less strict than the measures the franchisee uses with its own confidential information.

Confidential Information is defined broadly in the FDD to include any and all information, knowledge, know-how, trade secrets, trade dress, methodologies, techniques, procedures, applications and materials, in whatever form, used in or related to the System which Bumper Man provides to Franchisee, or which Franchisee or its Affiliates or Personnel develop or have access to, in connection with the Agreement or the operation of a Bumper Business.