What confidential information related to Chatime is a franchisee prohibited from making accessible on their website?
Chatime Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
anchisees from time to time.
Chatime Store Business means a business operated, including by a franchisee of the Franchisor, using the Business System, Corporate Image, Marks and other Intellectual Property (or any of them).
Chatime Group means the Franchisor and each of its parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates and each of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and contractors.
Confidential Information means any confidential, commercially sensitive or valuable information belonging to the Franchisor or its affiliates concerning the Franchisor or the Business System and includes, but is not limited to: (a) the provisions of the Franchise Agreement and any subject matter dealt with or contemplated therein; (b) all information concerning the Franchisor's business, the Business System, as it is now and in the future; (c) the Intellectual Property; (d) the methodology, affairs and procedures that the Franchisor specifies in the Business System that the Franchisee must use in the Franchised Business; (e) all information concerning the Franchisor's price lists, customer lists and client information, marketing and promotional
procedures and activities, surveys, techniques, data, research and development, Franchisor's methodology and procedures for operating a Chatime Store Business, knowhow and trade secrets, processes and formula, benchmarks for operation of a Franchised Business, customer information, lists and data, strategies, marketing plans, business plans and information; (f) any accounting procedures or financial information used in the Business System; (g) the contents of the Manual and each of the other Franchise Documents; (h) the Software and computer software programs if any (other than commercially available software packages) developed or implemented by the Franchisor for use in the Franchised Business, whether it is written, conveyed orally, stored or recorded by electronic, magnetic or other means and whether in original form or recompiled; and (i) all other information of a confidential nature.
Corporate Image includes: (a) the Names, the Marks, all characters, mascots, logos, product and service ranges, trade dress, signs, advertising and other promotional material; (b) any common uniform to be used by the franchisees from time to time; (c) the type, quality, dimension, design, layout, placement and colours of and all materials, signs, equipment, and build-out, used for decorating or identifying the Premises or marketing the Franchised Business, including without limitation the corporate colours and décor; and (d) the manner of conducting dealings with customers and other members of the public including the manner, method and techniques used when the Franchisor or the Franchisee conduct the Services in the operation of the Business System and the Franchised Business and specified by the Franchisor from time to time.
Franchisees mean, collectively, the individuals or entities that have been granted a right to operate a Chatime Store Business franchise by the Chatime Group anywhere in the world.
Franchise Documents means: (a) the Franchise Agreement; (b) the Operations Manual; (c) the Franchisee's lease for the Premises; and (d) any other document produced by the Franchisor from time to time that relates to the occupation of the Premises or the operation and procedure of the Franchised Business, and Franchise Document means any one of the foregoing.
Franchised Business means the Chatime Store Business operated by the Franchisee from the Premises in accordance with the Franchise Documents.
Intellectual Property means the: (a) the Business Names; (b) the Marks; (c) the Confidential Information; (d) the Business System; (e) the Franchise Documents; (f) the Database; (g) the POS Software System;
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 58–262)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Chatime's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must maintain the absolute confidentiality of the Confidential Information, and adopt and implement all reasonable procedures that Chatime prescribes to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the Confidential Information. This includes restrictions on the disclosure of the Confidential Information to Outlet personnel and others.
Confidential Information is defined as any confidential, commercially sensitive, or valuable information belonging to Chatime or its affiliates concerning Chatime or the Business System. This includes, but is not limited to, the provisions of the Franchise Agreement, all information concerning Chatime's business and the Business System, the Intellectual Property, the methodology, affairs, and procedures that Chatime specifies in the Business System that the Franchisee must use in the Franchised Business, and all information concerning Chatime's price lists, customer lists and client information, marketing and promotional procedures and activities, surveys, techniques, data, research and development, Chatime's methodology and procedures for operating a Chatime Store Business, knowhow and trade secrets, processes and formula, benchmarks for operation of a Franchised Business, customer information, lists and data, strategies, marketing plans, business plans and information; any accounting procedures or financial information used in the Business System; the contents of the Manual and each of the other Franchise Documents; the Software and computer software programs if any (other than commercially available software packages) developed or implemented by the Franchisor for use in the Franchised Business, whether it is written, conveyed orally, stored or recorded by electronic, magnetic or other means and whether in original form or recompiled; and all other information of a confidential nature.
Franchisees and Guarantors acknowledge that they will not acquire any interest in the Confidential Information, other than the right to utilize the Confidential Information in performing their obligations under the Agreement, and that the use or duplication of any Confidential Information would constitute an unfair method of competition. Franchisees and Guarantors agree that during the term of the Agreement and following the expiration or termination of this Agreement that they will not use the Confidential Information in any other business operation or capacity, will maintain the absolute confidentiality of the Confidential Information, and will not make unauthorized copies of any portion of the Confidential Information.
These restrictions do not apply to information that is or becomes publicly available, other than by breach of the Agreement, or information that Franchisee or Guarantor is legally compelled to disclose, provided Franchisee/Guarantor must have used its best efforts and afforded Chatime the opportunity to obtain an appropriate protective order or other assurance satisfactory to Chatime of confidential treatment for the information required to be disclosed, or information that is otherwise permitted under the terms of this Agreement.