V. | COMPETITIONAND FAIR DEALING |
All employees should endeavor to deal fairly with fellow employees and with the Company’s collaborators, licensors, customers, suppliers and competitors. Employees should not take unfair advantage of anyone through manipulation, concealment, abuse of privileged information, misrepresentation of material facts or any other unfair-dealing practice. Employees should maintain and protect any intellectual property licensed from licensors with the same care as they employ with regard to Company-developed intellectual property. Employees should also handle the nonpublic information of our collaborators, licensors, suppliers and customers responsibly and in accordance with our agreements with them, including information regarding their technology and product pipelines.
VI. | GIFTSAND ENTERTAINMENT |
The giving and receiving of gifts is a common business practice. Appropriate business gifts and entertainment are welcome courtesies designed to build relationships and understanding among business partners. Gifts and entertainment, however, should not compromise, or appear to compromise, your ability to make objective and fair business decisions. In addition, it is important to note that the giving and receiving of gifts are subject to a variety of laws, rules and regulations applicable to the Company’s operations. These include, without limitation, laws covering the marketing of products, bribery and kickbacks. You are expected to understand and comply with all laws, rules and regulations that apply to your job position.
It is your responsibility to use good judgment in this area. As a general rule, you may give or receive gifts or entertainment to or from collaborators, customers or suppliers only if the gift or entertainment is reasonable in value, justified, proportionate, intended to further legitimate business goals, in compliance with applicable law, and provided the gift or entertainment would not be viewed as an inducement to or reward for any particular business decision. Gifts must be less than $250 in value per gift and less than $1,000 per calendar year from or to any single third party. Gifts of cash and cash equivalents (such as gift cards or vouchers) are prohibited. All gifts and entertainment expenses should be properly accounted for on expense reports.
If you conduct business in other countries, you must be particularly careful that gifts and entertainment are not construed as bribes, kickbacks or other improper payments. See the “Anti-Corruption Compliance and The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” section of this Code for a more detailed discussion of our policies regarding giving or receiving gifts related to business transactions in other countries.
You should make every effort to refuse or return a gift that is beyond these permissible guidelines. If it would be inappropriate to refuse a gift or you are unable to return a gift, you should promptly report the gift to your supervisor. If you have any questions about whether it is permissible to accept a gift or something else of value, contact your supervisor or the Chief People Officer for additional guidance.
Note: Gifts and entertainment may not be offered or exchanged under any circumstances to or with any employees of the U.S. government or state or local governments. If you have any questions about this policy, contact your supervisor or the Company’s Chief Legal Officer for additional guidance. For a more detailed discussion of special considerations applicable to dealing with the U.S., state and local governments, see “Interactions with Governments.”
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