After the Checkers franchise term, what efforts must a franchisee exert to maintain the confidentiality of Checkers' Confidential Information?
Checkers Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
During and after the Term: (a) you may not use the Confidential Information in any other business or capacity (as you hereby acknowledge that such prohibited use would be an unfair method of competition); (b) you must exert your best efforts to maintain the confidentiality of the Confidential Information, regardless of its format or medium of transmission to you; (c) you may not make unauthorized copies of any portion of the Confidential Information; and (d) you must implement all commercially reasonable procedures we prescribe at any time and from time to time to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the Confidential Information, including requiring your managers and assistant managers, and any other of your personnel who attends training or who has the ability to access our Confidential Information, to sign nondisclosure agreements in a form we prescribe or approve and delivering those agreements to us.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 92–384)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Checkers Franchise Disclosure Document, even after the franchise term ends, a franchisee is obligated to protect the confidentiality of Checkers' proprietary information. This includes trade secrets and other confidential details crucial to the operation of a Checkers restaurant.
The franchisee must exert their best efforts to maintain the confidentiality of this information, regardless of how it was transmitted or stored. This means taking proactive steps to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure.
Specifically, the franchisee cannot use the confidential information in any other business or capacity, as this would be considered an unfair method of competition. They are also prohibited from making unauthorized copies of any confidential information. Furthermore, the franchisee must implement any commercially reasonable procedures that Checkers prescribes to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure. This includes requiring managers, assistant managers, and other personnel with access to confidential information to sign non-disclosure agreements. These agreements must be in a form prescribed or approved by Checkers and then delivered to Checkers.