What is the Fly Fitness franchisee's responsibility regarding the confidentiality of information contained in written directives?
Fly_Fitness Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
Franchisee and Principal(s) acknowledge and accept that during the term of this Agreement Franchisee and Principal(s) will have access to Franchisor's trade secrets, including, but not limited to, curriculum, methods, processes, client lists, vendor partnerships and/or relationships, sales and technical information, financial information, costs, pricing, software tools and applications, website and/or email design, products, services, equipment, technologies and procedures relating to the operation of the Franchised Business; 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").
Neither Franchisee nor any Principal shall, 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 their own benefit, any Confidential Information that may be communicated to Franchisee or any Principal or of which Franchisee or any Principal may be apprised in connection with the operation of the Franchised Business under the terms of this Agreement.
Franchisee and any Principal shall not divulge and make any Confidential Information available to anyone other than those of Franchisee's employees who require the Confidential Information to operate the Franchised Business and who have themselves entered into confidentiality and non-compete agreements containing the same provisions as contained in this Agreement, in accordance with Section 19.10 hereof.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 44–45)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Fly Fitness's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees and their principals must acknowledge that they will have access to Fly Fitness's trade secrets and confidential information during the term of the agreement. This information includes, but isn't limited to, curriculum, methods, processes, client lists, vendor partnerships and/or relationships, sales and technical information, financial information, costs, pricing, software tools and applications, website and/or email design, products, services, equipment, technologies and procedures relating to the operation of the Franchised Business; the Manual; methods of advertising and promotion; instructional materials; any other information which Fly Fitness may or may not specifically designate as "confidential" or "proprietary"; and the components of the System.
The franchisee and their principals are prohibited from communicating, divulging, or using this confidential information for the benefit of any other person or entity during the term of the agreement and are also prohibited from using it for their own benefit following the expiration or termination of the agreement.
Fly Fitness franchisees and their principals can only make confidential information available to those employees who require it to operate the franchised business. These employees must also enter into confidentiality and non-compete agreements with the same provisions as those contained in the franchise agreement. This ensures that the confidentiality of Fly Fitness's proprietary information is maintained even within the franchisee's own staff.