Does Crawlspace Medic consider information not specifically designated as 'confidential' or 'proprietary' to be Confidential Information?
Crawlspace_Medic Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
Developer acknowledges and accepts that during the term of this Agreement, Developer will have access to Franchisor's trade secrets, including, but not limited to, methods, processes, customer lists, vendor partnerships and/or relationships, sales and technical information, financial information, costs, product prices and names, software tools and applications, website and/or email design, products, services, equipment, technologies and procedures relating to the operation of a Crawlspace Medic outlet; the Manual; methods of advertising and promotion; instructional materials; any other information which Franchisor may or may not specifically designate as "confidential" or "proprietary"; and the components of the System, whether or not such information is protected or protectable by patent, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights (collectively referred to herein as the "Confidential Information"). Developer shall not, during the term of this Agreement and thereafter,
communicate or divulge to, or use for the benefit of, any other person or entity, and, following the expiration or termination of this Agreement, shall not use for Developer's own benefit, any Confidential Information that may be communicated to Developer or of which Developer may be apprised in connection with the development of Crawlspace Medic outlets under the terms of this Agreement. Developer shall not at any time copy, duplicate, record or otherwise reproduce any Confidential Information, in whole or in part, or otherwise make the same available to any person, without Franchisor's prior written consent. The covenant in this Section 8.1 shall survive the expiration, termination or transfer of this Agreement or any interest herein and shall be perpetually binding upon Developer.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD page 32)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Crawlspace Medic's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, information is considered confidential whether or not it is specifically marked as such. The franchise agreement states that franchisees will have access to trade secrets, including methods, customer lists, sales information, financial data, software, website design, and more.
Crawlspace Medic considers all of this information, along with anything in the operations manual, advertising methods, and components of their system, as "Confidential Information," regardless of whether it's explicitly labeled as confidential or proprietary. Franchisees are prohibited from sharing or using this information for their own or anyone else's benefit during and after the franchise term.
This means that even if a document or piece of information isn't stamped "confidential," a Crawlspace Medic franchisee is still legally obligated to treat it as such. This obligation extends indefinitely even after the franchise agreement expires or is terminated. Franchisees must also take steps to protect this information and notify Crawlspace Medic if they suspect any breaches of confidentiality.