After the Churchs Chicken Franchise Agreement terminates, can a franchisee disclose confidential information about the Churchs Chicken system to an unauthorized person?
Churchs_Chicken Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You may not, during or after the term of either the Franchise Agreement or the Development Agreement, disclose to any unauthorized person or entity any confidential information, knowledge or knowhow concerning the System. You may disclose confidential information only to those of your employees who need access to it to operate your Restaurant. Any information, knowledge or know-how (including, for example, drawings, materials, equipment, recipes, prepared mixtures or blends of spices or other food products and other data) that we designate as confidential are confidential for purposes of the Franchise and Development Agreements.
You must have a system in place to ensure your employees keep confidential our trade secrets and confidential and proprietary information, and, if we request, you must obtain from those employees we designate a signed Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement in the form we approve.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 47–49)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Churchs Chicken Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are prohibited from disclosing confidential information about the Churchs Chicken system to unauthorized individuals both during and after the term of the Franchise Agreement. This restriction extends to any confidential information, knowledge, or know-how related to the Churchs Chicken system. The only permissible disclosure is to employees who require access to this information to operate the restaurant effectively.
This obligation means that even after a Churchs Chicken franchise agreement ends, the former franchisee cannot share sensitive details such as food formulas, recipes, preparation methods, equipment standards, operating procedures, training programs, management programs, and architectural standards with anyone not authorized by Churchs Chicken. This is a standard practice in franchising to protect the brand's competitive advantage and proprietary information.
Churchs Chicken also requires franchisees to implement a system that ensures their employees maintain the confidentiality of trade secrets and proprietary information. If requested by Churchs Chicken, franchisees must obtain signed Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreements from designated employees, reinforcing the importance of maintaining secrecy within the franchise operation. This measure helps Churchs Chicken protect its valuable assets and maintain consistency across all franchise locations.