12. Restrictive Covenants
a. Records. All records, files, documents and the like, or abstracts, summaries or copies thereof, relating to the business of the Company or the business of any subsidiary or affiliated companies, which the Company or you shall prepare or use or come into contact with, shall remain the sole property of the Company or the affiliated or subsidiary company, as the case may be, and shall be promptly returned upon termination of employment.
b. Confidentiality. You acknowledge that you have acquired and will acquire knowledge regarding confidential, proprietary and/or trade secret information in the course of performing your responsibilities for the Company, and you further acknowledge that such knowledge and information is the sole and exclusive property of the Company. You recognize that disclosure of such knowledge and information, or use of such knowledge and information, to or by a competitor could cause serious and irreparable harm to the Company.
c. Non-Solicitation/Non-Piracy. During the Restriction Period, you will not solicit, aid in solicitation of, or intentionally induce, contact for the purpose of, or encourage any employee of the Company to leave the employ of the Company, hire any such person or otherwise interfere with such employee’s relationship with the Company, except that general advertisements and internet or similar postings not directed to any employees of the Company and hiring any employees who respond to such advertisements or postings shall not be deemed to be breaches of the foregoing covenant.
13. Indemnification. The Company shall indemnify you against all actions, suits, claims, legal proceedings and the like to the fullest extent permitted by law, including advancement of expenses, partial indemnification, indemnification following the termination of this Agreement, indemnification of your estate and similar matters.
14. Arbitration. You and the Company agree to submit to mandatory binding arbitration, in Redwood City, CA, any and all claims arising out of or related to this agreement and your employment with the Company and the termination thereof, except that each party may, at its or his option, seek injunctive relief in court related to the improper use, disclosure or misappropriation of a party’s proprietary, confidential or trade secret information. YOU AND THE COMPANY HEREBY WAIVE ANY RIGHTS TO TRIAL BY JURY IN REGARD TO SUCH CLAIMS. This agreement to arbitrate does not restrict your right to file administrative claims you may bring before any government agency where, as a matter of law, the parties may not restrict your ability to file such claims (including, but not limited to, the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor). However, you and the Company agree that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, arbitration shall be the exclusive remedy for the subject matter of such administrative claims. The arbitration shall be conducted through the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”), provided that, (i) the arbitrators shall have no authority to make any ruling or judgment that would confer any rights with respect to the trade secrets, confidential and proprietary information or other intellectual property of the Company upon you or any third party and (ii) this arbitration provision shall not preclude the Company or you from seeking legal and equitable relief from any court having jurisdiction with respect to any disputes or claims relating to or arising out of the alleged misuse or misappropriation of the Company’s intellectual property. The arbitrator shall issue a written decision that contains the essential findings and conclusions on which the decision is based. The parties acknowledge that they are hereby waiving any rights to trial by jury in any action, proceeding or counterclaim brought by either of the parties against the other in connection with any matter whatsoever arising out of or in any way connected with this Agreement.
15. Miscellaneous.
a. Absence of Conflicts. You represent that your performance of your duties under this Agreement will not breach any other agreement as to which you are a party.
b. Successors. This Agreement is binding on and may be enforced by the Company and its successors and assigns and is binding on and may be enforced by you and your heirs and legal representatives. Any successor to the Company or substantially all of its business (whether by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) will in advance assume in writing and be bound by all of the Company’s obligations under this Agreement.