16.Nondisparagement. While you are employed by the Company and at all times thereafter, you shall not directly or indirectly, publicly disparage the Company, its officers, directors, employees, products or services, and the Company shall not authorize, sanction or condone any public disparagement of you, and will instruct the members of the Board and its executive officers, on behalf of the Company or any of its direct and indirect controlled subsidiaries, to refrain from publicly disparaging you. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Paragraph 16 shall (i) be construed to prohibit any person from providing truthful testimony or information as may be required by law, rule, regulation, or legal process or as requested by any legal or regulatory authority, or from complying with any whistleblower law, or (ii) impair or interfere in any way with the Company’s ability to communicate with its investors, auditors and/or or legal advisors, or otherwise engage in truthful business-related communications.
17.Acknowledgments.
a. With respect to Paragraphs 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, you agree that the term “Company” shall include the Company’s direct and indirect controlled subsidiaries and affiliates. You acknowledge and agree that the type and period of restrictions imposed in Paragraphs 12, 13, 14, and 15 are fair and reasonable, and that such restrictions are necessary and essential and intended solely to protect the legitimate interests of the Company, including Confidential Information, goodwill, and business interests, rather than to prevent you from earning a livelihood. You recognize that the Company competes worldwide, and that your access to trade secrets and Confidential Information makes it necessary for the Company to restrict your post-employment activities in any market in which the Company competes, and in which your access to trade secrets, Confidential Information, and other proprietary information could be used to the detriment of the Company. In the event that any restriction set forth in this Letter is determined to be overbroad with respect to scope, time or geographical coverage, you agree that such a restriction or restrictions should be modified and narrowed, either by a court or by the Company, so as to preserve and protect the legitimate interests of the Company as described in this Letter, and without negating or impairing any other restrictions or agreements set forth herein.
b. You acknowledge and agree that if you should breach any of the covenants, restrictions and agreements contained in Paragraphs 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 of this Letter, irreparable loss and injury would result to the Company, monetary relief would not compensate for such breach, and damages arising out of such a breach may be difficult to ascertain. You therefore agree that, in addition to all other remedies provided at law or at equity, the Company shall be entitled to have the covenants, restrictions and agreements contained in Paragraphs 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 specifically enforced (including, without limitation, by temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctions and restraining orders), without the need to post any bond or security, by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York or any state court located in Nassau County, New York having equity jurisdiction and you agree to be subject to the jurisdiction of such court. You agree that, if you are found to have breached any of the time-limited covenants in Paragraphs 13 and 14, the time period during which you are subject to such covenant shall be extended by one day for each day you are found to have violated such restriction.
c. You agree that if the Company fails to take action to remedy any breach by you of this Letter or any portion of the Letter, such inaction by the Company shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of any subsequent breach by you of the same or any other provision, agreement or covenant.
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