Can unauthorized persons be allowed access to the Engel & Volkers System Documentation?
Engel_Volkers Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You must treat the System Documentation as strictly confidential and not allow any unauthorized persons to read them or have access to them. The System Documentation and the copyright on them remain our sole and exclusive property. You may only use the System Documentation during the term of your Franchise Agreement. The System Documentation at all times shall remain our exclusive property, and you must return the System Documentation (and all copies which you have made or obtained) to us promptly upon our request and, in any event, upon termination or expiration of your Franchise Agreement for any reason. You may not at any time copy, duplicate, record or otherwise reproduce or transcribe any of the System Documentation or any of the forms we supply without our prior written consent. If the System Documentation are supplied electronically, you may print one copy for your personal use. Although we have not filed an application for a copyright registration for these materials, we claim a copyright for all of these materials and the information is proprietary. The use of the material is limited only to you and your employees.
You must treat all business and operational secrets and all information you receive, either directly or indirectly, about the Engel & Völkers System and from the know-how included in the System Documentation ("Confidential Information") in strict confidence and not divulge it to any third party. Access to this Confidential Information by your employees and sales advisors must be restricted to the necessary minimum (need-to-know) and may only be used for purposes of performing under your Franchise Agreement. During the Term of the Franchise Agreement or afterwards, you cannot use any Confidential Information, directly or indirectly, in any other business or in any other manner or obtain any benefit not specifically approved in writing by us. You must impose these secrecy undertakings on your employees and independent sales advisors. These confidentiality obligations will continue after termination or expiration of the Franchise Agreement. However, you are permitted to use any information, knowledge and transferred know-how which has meanwhile become generally known and easy to obtain, except in cases where this has occurred as a result of a breach of the Franchise Agreement.
We require you to promptly tell us if you learn about any unauthorized use of these materials. We are not obligated to take any action but will respond to this information as we think appropriate.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS, AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 59–61)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Engel & Volkers's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must treat the System Documentation as strictly confidential and are prohibited from allowing unauthorized persons to access or read it. The System Documentation remains the sole and exclusive property of Engel & Volkers, and franchisees are only permitted to use it during the term of their Franchise Agreement. Upon request or termination of the agreement, the System Documentation and all copies must be promptly returned to Engel & Volkers.
The Franchise Agreement also states that franchisees must maintain all business and operational secrets, as well as any information received about the Engel & Volkers System, in strict confidence. Access to this Confidential Information by employees and sales advisors must be restricted to the minimum necessary for performing under the Franchise Agreement. Franchisees are responsible for ensuring their employees and independent sales advisors also adhere to these secrecy obligations, which continue even after the termination or expiration of the Franchise Agreement.
Furthermore, franchisees are granted a license to use Engel & Volkers's proprietary Integrated Product Suite and information technology, referred to as "Licensed Materials." Access to these Licensed Materials must be limited to licensed users only, and franchisees must discontinue access rights for terminated employees or sales advisors. Franchisees are required to keep confidential the proprietary information related to the Licensed Materials and employ reasonable security measures to prevent unauthorized disclosure or access, including obtaining non-disclosure agreements from licensed users.