Does Cicis consider customer data from Cicis Restaurants as Confidential Information?
Cicis Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You and your Owners and personnel may from time to time be provided with or otherwise be exposed to certain information about the System and the development and operation of Cicis Restaurants, including your Restaurant (some, but not all of which may be "trade secrets" under applicable law), that we consider and protect as our confidential information (regardless of whether they are marked as such), including the following (collectively, the "Confidential Information"):
- (1) growth and development plans, strategies, and forecasts related to the System;
- (2) site selection criteria;
- (3) initial or additional training and operations materials, including recipes and the Manuals;
- (4) the System Standards and other methods, formats, specifications, standards, systems, procedures, techniques, market research, customer data, knowledge, and experience used in developing, promoting and operating Cicis Restaurants;
- (5) knowledge of specifications for, and vendors of, assets and other products and supplies;
- (6) any software or other technology which is proprietary to us, our affiliates, or the System, including digital passwords and identifications and any source code of, and data, reports, and other materials generated by, the software or other technology;
- (7) customers of Cicis Restaurants (including your Restaurant); and
- (8) knowledge of the operating results and financial performance of Cicis Restaurants (including your Restaurant).
Confidential Information does not include information, knowledge, or know-how, which is lawfully known to the public without violation of applicable law or an obligation to us or our affiliates.
You agree that you, your Owners, your employees and independent contractors will adopt and implement reasonable procedures to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the Confidential Information. Further, you and your Owners, and your employees, and independent contractors will not, during the Term or at any time thereafter, disclose any of our Confidential Information to any other Person or use any of our Confidential Information for any purposes other than the business you own and operate pursuant to this Agreement.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 64–65)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Cicis's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, customer data from Cicis Restaurants is considered Confidential Information. Cicis defines Confidential Information as information about the System and the development and operation of Cicis Restaurants that Cicis protects, regardless of whether it is marked as such. This includes various types of information, such as growth and development plans, site selection criteria, training materials, System Standards, methods, market research, customer data, knowledge, and experience used in developing, promoting, and operating Cicis Restaurants.
This means that as a Cicis franchisee, you are obligated to protect customer data and other Confidential Information. You must implement reasonable procedures to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of this information. During the term of the franchise agreement and even after its termination, you, your owners, employees, and independent contractors are prohibited from disclosing any Confidential Information to any other person or using it for any purposes other than the business you own and operate under the franchise agreement.
The FDD specifies that Confidential Information does not include information that is lawfully known to the public without violating any laws or obligations to Cicis. This exception acknowledges that some information may already be in the public domain and therefore not subject to confidentiality restrictions. However, franchisees must still exercise caution and adhere to the confidentiality obligations outlined in the franchise agreement to protect Cicis's proprietary information and customer data.
For a prospective franchisee, this underscores the importance of maintaining data security and privacy. Failing to protect customer data and other Confidential Information could result in legal and financial repercussions, as well as damage to the reputation of both the franchisee and the Cicis brand. Franchisees should ensure that their employees are properly trained on data protection measures and that appropriate security protocols are in place to safeguard customer information.