What specific actions are included in the 'Confidentiality Obligations' for a Hydrodog franchisee?
Hydrodog Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- 9.2 Restriction on Use of Confidential Information. You acknowledge and agree that you will not acquire any interest in Confidential Information, other than the right to use certain Confidential Information in operating your HydroDog Business during this Agreement's term and according to this Agreement's terms and conditions, and that your use of any Confidential Information for any purpose not expressly authorized by this Agreement would constitute an unfair method of competition with us and our franchisees and may violate certain laws. You further acknowledge and agree that the Confidential Information is proprietary, includes our trade secrets, and is disclosed to you only on the condition that you, your Owners, managers, employees and/or independent contractors who have access to it agree, and they do agree, that you and they:
- (a) Will not use any Confidential Information in any other business or capacity;
- (b) Will keep the Confidential Information strictly confidential during and indefinitely after this Agreement's term;
- (c) Will not make unauthorized copies of any Confidential Information disclosed via electronic medium or in written or other tangible form; and
- (d) will adopt and implement all reasonable procedures that we periodically prescribe to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of Confidential Information, including, without limitation, restricting its disclosure to Franchised Business personnel and others needing to know such Confidential Information to operate your HydroDog Business, and requiring all employees and independent contractors having access to Confidential Information to sign confidentiality and non-competition agreements in a form acceptable to us. We have the right to regulate the form of confidentiality and non-competition agreement that you use and to be a third-party beneficiary of that agreement with independent enforcement rights.
You must disclose to us all ideas, techniques, services and products concerning the development and operation of your HydroDog Business that you or your employees conceive or develop during the term of this Agreement. You must grant to us and agree to obtain from your owners, employees, contractors, and agents a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, transferable, and worldwide right to use, modify, exploit, and sublicense these ideas, techniques, innovations, improvements and products concerning the development and operation of Franchised Business that you or your employees, contractors, or agents conceive or develop during the term of this Agreement in all pet-related product and service businesses. We will have no obligation to make any lump sum or on-going payments to you with respect to any idea, concept, method, technique or product. You must agree that you will not use nor will you allow any other person or entity to use any of these ideas, techniques or products without obtaining our p
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 43–166)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Hydrodog Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees have specific confidentiality obligations to protect Hydrodog's proprietary information. These obligations include not using any Confidential Information in any other business or capacity and keeping the Confidential Information strictly confidential both during and indefinitely after the franchise agreement's term. This means a franchisee cannot leverage Hydrodog's operational knowledge or trade secrets for personal gain outside of the franchised business.
Additionally, franchisees must refrain from making unauthorized copies of any Confidential Information, whether disclosed electronically or in tangible form. They are also required to implement reasonable procedures to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of Confidential Information. This includes restricting disclosure to only those personnel who need to know the information to operate the Hydrodog Business and ensuring that all employees and independent contractors with access to confidential information sign confidentiality and non-competition agreements in a form acceptable to Hydrodog. Hydrodog retains the right to regulate the form of these agreements and to be a third-party beneficiary with independent enforcement rights.
Furthermore, franchisees must disclose to Hydrodog all ideas, techniques, services, and products concerning the development and operation of their Hydrodog Business that they or their employees conceive or develop during the term of the agreement. They must grant Hydrodog a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, transferable, and worldwide right to use, modify, exploit, and sublicense these innovations in all pet-related product and service businesses. Hydrodog has no obligation to provide any payment for these ideas. Franchisees must agree not to use or allow others to use these ideas without Hydrodog's prior written consent. These stipulations ensure that Hydrodog maintains control over its intellectual property and can leverage franchisee innovations for the benefit of the entire system.