What is the Engel & Volkers franchisor's agreement to provide confidential information dependent on?
Engel_Volkers Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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- Franchisor is disclosing the Confidential Information to Recipient solely on the condition that Recipient agree, and Recipient does hereby agree, that any Confidential Information received from Franchisor (a) shall only be used for purposes of performing the Franchise Agreement, (b) will not be used in any other business, manner or capacity, (c) will have its absolute confidentiality maintained both during and after the Term of the Franchise Agreement, (d) will not be copied without authorization, and (e) will not be disclosed to any third party without the prior written consent of Franchisor. Recipient agrees that use of Confidential Information in connection with any generative, artificial intelligence tool or program is considered disclosure of such Confidential Information to a third party and constitutes a breach of this Agreement. Recipient agrees to use reasonable care to prevent the disclosure of the Confidential Information to any third party, and further agrees to limit the dissemination of the Confidential Information within its own organization to individuals whose duties justify the need to know such information, and then only provided that there is a clear understanding by such individuals of their obligation to maintain the confidential status of the Confidential Information and to restrict its use solely to the purposes specified herein. Each other person receiving the Confidential Information must also sign a copy of this Agreement.
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- Recipient acknowledges that no other right or license to use the Confidential Information is granted by this Agreement, and agrees that the amount of the Confidential Information to be disclosed to Recipient is completely within the discretion of Franchisor.
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- Recipient hereby agrees to inform Franchisor of all experience gained during use of the Engel & Völkers System and the rights under the Franchise Agreement, and to allow Franchisor and other Engel & Völkers franchisees to use the know-how gained from his/her/its experience free of charge.
Recipient hereby assigns to Franchisor any such amendments or improvements to the Engel & Völkers System.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 88)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Engel & Volkers' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisor discloses confidential information to the recipient (franchisee) only if the recipient agrees to specific conditions. These conditions include using the confidential information solely for performing the Franchise Agreement, not using it in any other business, maintaining its absolute confidentiality during and after the term of the agreement, not copying it without authorization, and not disclosing it to any third party without prior written consent from Engel & Volkers.
Engel & Volkers also specifies that using confidential information with generative AI tools is considered a breach of the agreement. The franchisee must use reasonable care to prevent disclosure to third parties and limit dissemination within their organization to individuals with a need to know, ensuring these individuals understand their obligation to maintain confidentiality and restrict use to specified purposes. Each person receiving confidential information must also sign a copy of the agreement.
The agreement also states that no other right or license to use the confidential information is granted, and the amount of confidential information disclosed is at Engel & Volkers' discretion. Furthermore, the franchisee agrees to inform Engel & Volkers of all experience gained during the use of the Engel & Volkers system and allow Engel & Volkers and other franchisees to use this know-how free of charge, assigning any amendments or improvements to the Engel & Volkers system to the franchisor.