Does the Buona agreement require franchisees to provide copies of non-disclosure or non-competition agreements signed by owners, managers, or employees?
Buona Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You acknowledge and agree that the Confidential Information belongs to us and our affiliate, is proprietary information, and may contain trade secrets belonging to us and our affiliate and is disclosed to you or authorized for your use solely on the condition that you agree, and you therefore do agree herein, that you: (1) will not use the Confidential Information during and after the term of this Agreement in any other business or capacity; (2) will maintain the absolute confidentiality of the Confidential Information during and after the term of this Agreement; (3) will not make unauthorized copies of any portion of the Confidential Information disclosed in written form; and (4) will adopt and implement all reasonable procedures we may prescribe from time to time to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the Confidential Information, including restrictions on disclosure to your employees and the use of non-disclosure and/or non-competition agreements we may prescribe for your employees who have access to the Confidential Information.
Upon our request, you must provide us with copies of signed non-disclosure and/or noncompetition agreements signed by any Owners, managers or employees.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 78)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Buona's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are required to provide copies of non-disclosure and/or non-competition agreements signed by owners, managers, or employees upon Buona's request. This requirement is tied to the protection of Buona's confidential information.
The agreement emphasizes that the relationship between Buona and its franchisees does not grant the franchisee any rights to Buona's confidential information, except for its use in developing franchised restaurants under the agreement. The use or duplication of this information in any other business is considered unfair competition and a breach of the agreement.
Franchisees must maintain the confidentiality of Buona's proprietary information during and after the term of the agreement. They must also implement reasonable procedures to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of this information, including using non-disclosure and/or non-competition agreements for employees who have access to it. This ensures that Buona can take steps to protect its business practices and trade secrets through legally binding documents with the franchisee's personnel.