Does Zoomin Groomin consider its business methods confidential and proprietary?
Zoomin_Groomin Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
THIS NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT ("Agreement") is entered into this day of, 20 ("Effective Date"), by and between Zoomin Groomin USA LLC ("Company"), a Virginia limited liability company at 780 Lynnhaven Pkwy, Suite 240, Virginia Beach, VA 23452, and ("Recipient") for the purpose of preventing the unauthorized disclosure of Company's Confidential Information.
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- Confidential Information. "Confidential Information" means all information or data (oral, written, and electronic) disclosed or furnished by Company to Recipient, including but not limited to all business processes and information, negotiations and negotiated terms to the Franchise Agreement or other Agreement between the parties, financial data, trade secrets, customer lists, agreements, manuals, operating materials, knowledge, know-how, and all other data, regardless of whether such information is designated as "Confidential Information" at the time of its disclosure.
Confidential Information does not include information (a) already in Recipient's possession before receipt from Company; (b) that is a matter of public knowledge through no fault of Recipient; or (c) that is rightfully received by Recipient from a third party not owing a duty of confidentiality to Company.
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- Use of Confidential Information.
Recipient shall not, directly or indirectly, during the term of this Agreement or thereafter, communicate, divulge, or use any Confidential Information for the benefit of any other person, partnership, association, or corporation and shall use the Confidential Information only as authorized by Company.
Recipient agrees to take reasonable measures to prevent unauthorized persons or entities from accessing Confidential Information in Recipient's possession.
Source: Item 14 — PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION (FDD pages 36–37)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Zoomin Groomin's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the company considers certain information to be confidential. Specifically, Zoomin Groomin requires franchisees to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of the company's Confidential Information. This agreement defines "Confidential Information" broadly, encompassing all data disclosed by Zoomin Groomin to the franchisee, including business processes, financial data, trade secrets, customer lists, agreements, manuals, operating materials, knowledge, and know-how.
This NDA restricts franchisees from communicating, divulging, or using any Confidential Information for the benefit of any other person or entity, and requires them to use the information only as authorized by Zoomin Groomin. Franchisees must take reasonable measures to prevent unauthorized access to Confidential Information in their possession.
However, the agreement also specifies exceptions to what constitutes Confidential Information. Information already in the franchisee's possession before receiving it from Zoomin Groomin, information that becomes public knowledge through no fault of the franchisee, or information rightfully received from a third party not owing a duty of confidentiality to Zoomin Groomin is excluded from the definition of Confidential Information. This means that while Zoomin Groomin protects its proprietary information, franchisees are not restricted from using information they already possessed or that is publicly available.