this Agreement prohibits Employee from discussing terms and conditions of employment or engaging in other concerted activity protected by law. Further, nothing in this Agreement prohibits Employee from cooperating with governmental investigations or reporting possible violations of laws or regulations to any governmental agency or entity, as required by law.
5. DUTY TO PREVENT DISCLOSURE. Employee agrees to take all precautions reasonably necessary to prevent the unauthorized handling, use, access, disclosure, or dissemination of Confidential Information either during employment with Company or following termination of employment with Company for any reason whatsoever and Employee shall follow all applicable policies and procedures of the Company regarding maintenance and protection of Confidential Information.
6. CLIENT INFORMATION. Employee agrees not to use, publish, communicate, reproduce, disclose, remove from Company premises, or disseminate in any manner whatsoever, for compensation or otherwise, any information, actions, events, behavior, or other conduct that Employee observes or hears from Company’s clients, either directly or indirectly, either during employment with Company or following termination of employment, except as required in the course of employment with Company.
7. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE. Notwithstanding Sections 4, 5 and 6 above, in the event that Employee is requested or required (by oral questions, interrogatories, requests for information or documents, subpoena, civil investigative demand or other similar process in legal proceedings) to disclose any of the Confidential Information, Employee shall provide Company with prompt written notice of any such request or requirement so that Company may seek a protective order or other appropriate remedy, or waive compliance with the provisions of this Agreement.
8. RETURN OF MATERIALS UPON TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT. Employee agrees that upon termination of Employee’s employment with Company, for any reason whatsoever, Employee will immediately turn over to Company all Confidential Information, including but not limited to, any client lists, client contracts, or other client information in Employee’s possession. Employee also agrees that upon Employee’s termination of employment with Company, for any reason whatsoever, to return all other Company property or equipment, including but not limited to documents, computer software, and/or other materials related to the business, professional or personal affairs of Company or any of Company’s clients. Further, Employee will not retain any copies of any of the above materials in hardcopy, electronic or other form.
9. INVENTIONS.
a. Employee has attached hereto, as Exhibit A, a list describing all inventions, original works of authorship, developments, improvements, and trade secrets which were made by him/her prior to his/her employment with the Company (collectively referred to as “Prior Inventions”), which belong to him/her, which relate to the Company’s proposed business, products or research and development, and which are not assigned to the Company hereunder; or, if no such list is attached, Employee represents that there are no such Prior Inventions. If in the course of Employee’s employment with the Company, Employee incorporates into a Company product, process or service a Prior Invention owned by him/her or in which Employee has an interest, Employee hereby grants to the Company a nonexclusive, royalty-free, fully paid-up, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide license to make, have made, modify, use and sell such Prior Invention as part of or in connection with such product, process or service, and to practice any method related thereto.
b. Employee will promptly disclose to the Company, or any persons designated by it, all improvements, inventions, original works of authorship, developments, concepts, designs, discoveries, ideas, trademarks, trade secrets, formulae, processes, techniques, know-how and data, whether or not patentable or copyrightable, made or conceived or reduced to practice or learned by Employee, either alone or jointly with others, during the period of Employee’s employment hereunder, which are related to or useful in the business of the Company, or result from tasks assigned Employee by the Company, or result from use of premises owned, leased or contracted for by the Company collectively referred to herein as “Inventions”).
c. Employee agrees that all Inventions shall be the sole property of the Company and its assigns, and the Company and its assigns shall be the sole owner of all patents and other rights in connection therewith. Employee hereby assigns to the Company any rights Employee may have or acquire in all Inventions. Employee further agrees, as to all Inventions, to assist the Company in every proper way (but at the Company’s expense) to obtain and from time to time enforce patents and copyrights on and trade secrets relating to Inventions in any and all countries, and to that end Employee will execute all documents for use in applying for and obtaining such patents and copyrights thereon and enforcing same, as the Company may desire, together with any assignments thereof to the Company or persons designated by it.