Affiliate or otherwise acquired or developed by the Company or any Company Affiliate or acquired, developed or known by Avery by reason of the performance of his duties for, or his association with, the Company or any Company Affiliate shall at all times be the property of the Company. Avery shall take all reasonable steps to safeguard Confidential Information and protect it against disclosure, misuse, loss or theft. “Confidential Information” means information that the Company or any Company Affiliate regard and treat as confidential; is not known or accessible to competitors or other third persons not having a legitimate need to know; has value to the Company or any Company Affiliate due to the confidentiality thereof; and if disclosed, could result in substantial competitive or business disadvantage. Such information includes (x) trade secrets concerning the business and affairs of the Company or any Company Affiliate, any product specifications, data,know-how, formulae, compositions, processes, designs, sketches, photographs, graphs, drawings, samples, inventions and ideas, past, current and planned research and development, current and planned manufacturing and distribution methods and processes, customer lists, current and anticipated customer requirements, price lists, market studies, business plans, computer software and programs (including object code and source code), database technologies, systems, structures, architectures processes, improvements, devices, discoveries, concepts, methods, and information of the Company or any Company Affiliate; (y) all information concerning the business and affairs of the Company or any Company Affiliate (which includes financial statements, financial projections and budgets, historical and projected sales, capital spending budgets and plans, the names and backgrounds of key personnel, contractors, agents, suppliers and potential suppliers, personnel training and techniques and materials, and purchasing methods and techniques), however documented; and (z) notes, analysis, compilations, studies, summaries and other material prepared by or for the Company or Company Affiliate containing or based, in whole or in part, upon any information included in the foregoing.
(b) Non-Compete. Avery acknowledges that by reason of Avery’s duties and association with the Company and the Company Affiliates, Avery has had and will continue to have access to Confidential Information concerning the Company and the Company Affiliates and that Avery’s services are of special, unique and extraordinary value to the Company and the Company Affiliates. Therefore, Avery agrees that during his employment with the Company and until the one (1) year anniversary of the Termination Date (regardless of the reason for termination), Avery shall not, other than in the legitimate exercise of his duties for the Company during his employment with the Company, directly or indirectly own, manage, operate, control, be employed or engaged by, lend to, or otherwise serve as a director, officer, stockholder, partner, member, manager, agent, consultant or contractor of or to, any entity that engages in, or otherwise engage or participate in, whether or not for compensation, the Business (as defined in Section 9(a) of this Agreement), or in any other business in which the Company or any Company Affiliate engages as of the date on which Avery’s employment with the Company ends and in which Avery, during the course of his employment, has had management ornon-management responsibility, providedknow-how or has had access to Confidential Information. The provisions in this Section 6(b) shall operate in the market areas of the United States and any other market areas of any other countries anywhere in the world in which the Company or any Company Affiliate conducts its business as of Avery’s termination from the Company. The foregoing shall not restrict Avery from directly or indirectly owning stock of the Company or up to an aggregate of five percent of the outstanding stock of any publicly held company engaged in the Business.
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