What are the specific confidentiality obligations of the Monicals Pizza franchisee regarding Trade Secrets and Confidential Information during and after the term of the Agreement?
Monicals_Pizza Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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- a) Recipient shall not communicate or divulge to (or use for the benefit of) any other person, firm, association, or corporation, with the sole exception of Franchisee, now or at any time in the future, any Trade Secrets or other Confidential Information. At all times from the date of this Agreement, Recipient must take all steps reasonably necessary and/or requested by Franchisee to ensure that the Confidential Information and Trade Secrets are kept confidential pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. Recipient must comply with all applicable policies, procedures and practices that Franchisee has established and may establish from time to time with regard to the Confidential Information and Trade Secrets.
- b) Recipient's obligations under paragraph 2(a) of this Agreement shall continue in effect after termination of Recipient's relationship with Franchisee, regardless of the reason or reasons for termination, and whether such termination is voluntary or involuntary, and Franchisee is entitled to communicate Recipient's obligations under this Agreement to any future customer or employer to the extent deemed necessary by Franchisee for protection of its rights hereunder and regardless of whether Recipient or any of its affiliates or assigns becomes an investor, partner, joint venturer, broker, distributor or the like in a Monical's Pizza Restaurant.
3. Non-Competition
- a) During the term of Recipient's relationship with Franchisee and for a period of two (2) years after the expiration or termination of Recipient's relationship with Franchisee, regardless of the cause of expiration or termination, Recipient shall not, directly or indirectly, for themselves or through, on behalf of or in conjunction with, any person, persons, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or other business entity, divert or attempt to divert any business or customer of Franchisee to any Competitive Business, by direct or indirect inducement or otherwise, or do or perform, directly or indirectly, any other act injurious or prejudicial to the goodwill associated with the Company's service mark "Monical's Pizza®" and such other trade names, trademarks, service marks, trade dress, designs, graphics, logos, emblems, insignia, fascia, slogans, drawings and other commercial symbols as the Company designates to be used in connection with Monical's Pizza Restaurants or the Company's uniform standards, methods, procedures and specifications for the establishment and operation of Monical's Pizza Restaurants.
- b) During the term of Individual's relationship with Franchisee, Individual shall not, directly or indirectly, for themselves or through, on behalf of or in conjunction with, any person, persons, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or other business entity, carry on, be engaged in or take part in, render services to, or own or share in the earnings of any Competitive Business anywhere within the United States without the express written consent of Franchisee.
- c) For a two (2) year period following the term of Individual's relationship with Franchisee, regardless of the cause of termination, Individual shall not, directly or indirectly, for themselves or through, on behalf of or in conjunction with, any person, persons, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or other business entity, carry on, be engaged in or take part in, render services to, or own or share in the earnings of any Competitive Business within a twenty-five (25) mile radius of Franchisee's Franchised Restaurant or within Franchisee's Area of Primary Responsibility, whichever is greater, or within twenty-five (25) miles of any other Monical's Pizza Restaurant without the express written consent of Franchisee. For purposes of this Agreement, Franchisee's "Area of Primary Responsibility" is defined as:
d) During the term of Individual's relationship with Franchisee and for a period of two (2) years thereafter, regardless of the cause of termination, Individual shall not, directly or indirectly, solicit or otherwise attempt to induce or influence any employee or other business associate of Franchisee, Company or any other Monical's Pizza Restaurant to compete against, or terminate or modify his, her or its employment or business relationship with, Franchisee, Company or any other Monical's Pizza Restaurant.
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4. Reasonableness of Restrictions
Recipient acknowledges that each of the terms set forth herein, including the restrictive covenants, is fair and reasonable and is reasonably required for the protection of Franchisee, Company, and Company's Trade Secrets and other Confidential Information, the Company's business system, network of franchises and trade and service marks, and Recipient waives any right to challenge these restrictions as being overly broad, unreasonable or otherwise unenforceable. If, however, a court of competent jurisdiction determines that any such restriction is unreasonable or unenforceable, then Recipient shall submit to the reduction of any such activity, time period or geographic restriction necessary to enable the court to enforce such restrictions to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law. It is the desire and intent of the parties that the provisions of this Agreement shall be enforced to the fullest extent permissible under the laws and public policies applied in any jurisdiction where enforcement is sought.
5. Relief for Breaches of Confidentiality, Non-Solicitation and Non-Competition
Recipient further acknowledges that an actual or threatened violation of the covenants contained in this Agreement will cause Franchisee and Company immediate and irreparable harm, damage and injury that cannot be fully compensated for by an award of damages or other remedies at law. Accordingly, Franchisee and Company shall be entitled, as a matter of right, to an injunction from any court of competent jurisdiction restraining any further violation by Recipient of this Agreement without any requirement to show any actual damage or to post any bond or other security.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 46–257)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Monicals Pizza Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees have strict confidentiality obligations regarding trade secrets and confidential information, both during the term of the agreement and after its termination. Franchisees must not disclose any trade secrets or confidential information to any third party, and they must take all necessary steps to protect this information. These obligations extend beyond the termination of the franchise relationship, regardless of the reason for termination, whether voluntary or involuntary. Monicals Pizza is entitled to inform future customers or employers of the franchisee about these confidentiality obligations to protect its rights. Franchisees acknowledge that these restrictions are fair and reasonable for the protection of Monicals Pizza's trade secrets, confidential information, business system, and trademarks.
Monicals Pizza defines "Trade Secrets" as information not commonly known to the public that provides economic value and is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy. This includes materials, techniques, data, formulas, recipes, patterns, compilations, programs, devices, methods, techniques, drawings, processes, financial data, plans, passwords, and customer/supplier lists. "Confidential Information" includes technical and nontechnical data not publicly known, such as trade secrets, information in the Confidential Operations Manual, training guides, and any other information designated as confidential by Monicals Pizza. Information that becomes publicly available through no fault of the franchisee, was already rightfully in the franchisee's possession, is independently developed, or is rightfully obtained from a third party is excluded from confidential information.
Upon termination or expiration of the franchise agreement, franchisees must immediately cease using Monicals Pizza's trade secrets, confidential information, the system, and the marks. This includes all signs, slogans, logos, advertising materials, and any other items associated with the marks. Franchisees acknowledge that violating these confidentiality terms will cause immediate and irreparable harm to Monicals Pizza, entitling Monicals Pizza to seek injunctive relief from a court to prevent further violations, without needing to show actual damages or post a bond. Additionally, for a period of two years after the termination of the agreement, franchisees are restricted from soliciting employees or business associates of Monicals Pizza.