Under what circumstances are the confidentiality restrictions regarding Clear Pest Pros information not applicable?
Clear_Pest_Pros Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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- The foregoing restrictions will not apply to the information that:
- a. is now public knowledge or hereafter becomes public knowledge through no fault of yours;
- b. is properly provided to you without restriction by a third party having no such restriction;
- c. is required to be disclosed by order of a competent court or governmental authority, provided, however, that you provide us with prompt written notice of any claim or litigation that could give rise to such a requirement, you furnish only that portion of the Confidential Information that you are required to disclose, and you advise the governmental authority of your confidentiality obligations under this Agreement and seek to obtain appropriate protective orders or other assurance satisfactory to us of confidential treatment for the information required to be so disclosed.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 67–68)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Clear Pest Pros's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, there are specific instances where confidentiality restrictions do not apply to franchisees. This means that in certain situations, franchisees are not obligated to keep certain information about the Clear Pest Pros business confidential.
These exceptions include information that is already public knowledge or becomes public knowledge without any fault on the franchisee's part. Additionally, if a third party provides the franchisee with information without any confidentiality restrictions, the franchisee is not bound by confidentiality obligations to Clear Pest Pros regarding that information.
Finally, if a court or governmental authority orders the franchisee to disclose confidential information, the restrictions do not apply, provided the franchisee gives Clear Pest Pros prompt written notice, only discloses the required portion of the information, and seeks protective orders to maintain confidentiality to the extent possible. This is a fairly standard clause in franchise agreements, balancing the need to protect the franchisor's proprietary information with the franchisee's need to operate legally and transparently.