How will Goldfish Swim School provide its trade secrets and other confidential information to the franchisee?
Goldfish_Swim_School Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
We have developed certain trade secrets and other confidential information, including methods of business management, sales and promotion techniques, and know-how, knowledge of, and experience in, operating a Goldfish Swim School. We will provide our trade secrets and other confidential information to you during training, in the Confidential Brand Standards Manual and as a result of the assistance we furnish you during the term of the franchise. You may only use the trade secrets and other confidential information for the purpose of operating your franchised swim school. You may only divulge trade secrets and other confidential information to employees who must have access to it to operate the franchised swim school. You are responsible for enforcing the confidentiality provisions as to your employees.
Certain individuals with access to trade secrets or other confidential information, including your owners, shareholders, officers, directors, partners, members, if you are a corporation, limited liability company or other business entity, and your Designated Manager(s), on-site general manager if different from the Designated Manager, other managers of the Franchised Swim School, and executives are required to sign nondisclosure and non-competition agreements in a form the same as or similar to the Nondisclosure and Non-Competition Agreement attached to the Franchise Agreement. We will be a third-party beneficiary with the right to enforce those agreements. You must ensure that your employees with access to Confidential Information execute a Nondisclosure Agreement in the form similar to the form attached to the Franchise Agreement to prevent your employees from using or disclosing our Confidential Information after their employment terminates.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 51–52)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Goldfish Swim School Franchise Disclosure Document, Goldfish Swim School will provide its trade secrets and other confidential information to franchisees through several avenues. These include during the initial training program, within the Confidential Brand Standards Manual, and through ongoing assistance provided during the term of the franchise agreement. This information encompasses methods of business management, sales and promotion techniques, and the specific know-how required to successfully operate a Goldfish Swim School. Franchisees are only allowed to use this information to operate their franchised swim school.
Goldfish Swim School emphasizes the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of this information. Franchisees are responsible for ensuring that their employees with access to confidential information also sign nondisclosure agreements. These agreements are designed to prevent employees from using or disclosing confidential information, even after their employment with the franchisee ends. Certain individuals, such as owners, officers, directors, and managers, are required to sign non-disclosure and non-competition agreements, reinforcing the commitment to protecting Goldfish Swim School's proprietary information.
The Franchise Disclosure Document also specifies that Goldfish Swim School is a third-party beneficiary of these agreements and has the right to enforce them. This underscores the franchisor's active role in safeguarding its trade secrets and confidential information. Franchisees must understand that their access to this information creates a relationship of confidence and trust, obligating them to protect it. The agreement also states that all knowledge of the operation of a Goldfish Swim School is derived from the information disclosed to the franchisee and that certain information is proprietary, confidential, and constitutes trade secrets.
Overall, Goldfish Swim School takes a comprehensive approach to protecting its trade secrets and confidential information by providing it through various channels, requiring strict confidentiality agreements, and actively enforcing these agreements to maintain the integrity of its system. This multifaceted approach aims to ensure that franchisees have the necessary information to operate successfully while also safeguarding the franchisor's proprietary assets.