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Invention Confidentiality and Non Compete Agreement
- To: Robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>
- Subject: Invention Confidentiality and Non Compete Agreement
- From: "Alan" <http://www.comcast.net/~alan>
- Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 07:18:33 -0400
- Organization: ---
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Robert,
Stumbled upon this - original from Mucci.
Alan.
TOPICAL_NET, INC., INC.
INVENTION, CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONCOMPETE AGREEMENT
Management, Technical and Marketing/Sales Agreement dated as of the _____ day
of __________, 200___, by and between Topical_Net, Inc., a Delaware corporation
having its principal office at 800 West Cummings Park, Suite 2900, Woburn, MA
01801 ("Topical_Net, Inc."), and ________________________________, residing at
In consideration of employment by Topical_Net, Inc., Employee agrees as
follows:
1. Definitions.
1.1 "Products" shall mean all computer programs and other products and
services developed and/or licensed, sold, leased or otherwise distributed or
put into use by the Topical_Net, Inc., during the term of Employee's
employment.
1.2 "Confidential Information" means all valuable information of
Topical_Net, Inc. which may give Topical_Net, Inc. a competitive advantage and
is not generally known to others. It includes, without limitation, the
Inventions (as such term is defined in Section 2.1 below), customer lists and
data, computer programs and documentation for such programs, information,
strategies, internal reports and memoranda and other data relating to the
development, manufacturing, costs, marketing, licensing, sales and uses of the
Products, the source of supplies for the Products, Topical_Net, Inc.'s budget
and strategic plans, and the identity and special needs of customers for the
Products. All Confidential Information and copies thereof are the sole
property of Topical_Net, Inc.
1.3 "Third Party Confidential Information" shall mean information or
data, furnished to Topical_Net, Inc. by third parties, as to which Topical_Net,
Inc. has assumed obligations of confidentiality.
1.4 "Documents" shall mean all tangible embodiments of Inventions,
Topical_Net, Inc.'s Confidential Information, or Third Party Confidential
Information, in written or printed form, electronic storage media, or other
tangible media of expression.
2. Assignment of Inventions.
2.1 Employee shall promptly and fully disclose to Topical_Net, Inc. any
and all computer programs and documentation, inventions, discoveries,
developments, concepts and ideas, whether or not patentable, that are
authored, conceived, developed, reduced to practice or prepared by Employee
alone or by Employee and others, during the period of Employee's employment
with Topical_Net, Inc., relating to either the Products or to any prospective
activities of Topical_Net, Inc. known to Employee as a consequence of
employment with Topical_Net, Inc. (the "Inventions").
2.2 Upon and/or following disclosure of each Invention to Topical_Net,
Inc., Employee will, during Employee's employment and at any time thereafter,
at the request and cost of Topical_Net, Inc., sign, execute, make and do all
such deeds, documents, acts and things as Topical_Net, Inc. and its duly
authorized agents may reasonably require to apply for, obtain and vest in the
name of Topical_Net, Inc. alone (unless Topical_Net, Inc. otherwise directs)
letters patent, copyrights or other analogous protection in any country
throughout the world and when so obtained or vested to renew and restore the
same; and to defend any opposition proceedings in respect of such applications
and any opposition proceedings or petitions or applications for revocation of
such letters patent, copyright or other analogous protection.
2.3 Employee acknowledges that all copyrightable works prepared in whole
or in part by Employee in the course of Employee's employment, including
without limitation all Inventions, shall be "works made for hire" under the
Copyright Act of 1976 (the "Copyright Act"), and shall be the sole property of
Topical_Net, Inc. and Topical_Net, Inc. shall be the sole author of such works
within the meaning of the Copyright Act. All such works, as well as all copies
of such works in whatever medium, shall be owned exclusively by Topical_Net,
Inc. and Employee hereby expressly disclaims any and all interests in such
works. If the copyright to any such work shall not be the property of
Topical_Net, Inc. by operation of law, Employee hereby and without further
consideration, irrevocably assigns to Topical_Net, Inc. all right, title and
interest in such work, including all so- called "moral rights," and will
assist Topical_Net, Inc. and its nominees in every proper way, at Topical_Net,
Inc.'s expense, to secure, maintain and defend for Topical_Net, Inc.'s own
benefit copyrights and any extensions and renewals thereof on such work,
including translations thereof in any and all countries, such work to be and
to remain the property of Topical_Net, Inc. whether copyrighted or not. If the
foregoing moral rights cannot be so assigned under the applicable laws of the
countries in which such rights exist, Employee hereby waives such moral rights
and consents to any action of Topical_Net, Inc. that would violate such rights
in the absence of such consent.
2.4 Without in any way limiting the foregoing, Employee hereby assigns
to Topical_Net, Inc. all right, title and interest to all Inventions, including
but not limited to patent rights.
2.5 In the event Topical_Net, Inc. is unable, after reasonable effort, to
secure Employee's signature on any letters patent, copyright or other
analogous protection relating to an Invention, whether because of Employee's
physical or mental incapacity or for any other reason whatsoever, Employee
hereby irrevocably designates and appoints Topical_Net, Inc. and its duly
authorized officers and agents as his agent and attorney-in-fact, to act for
and in his behalf and stead to execute and file any such application or
applications and to do all other lawfully permitted acts to further the
prosecution thereon with the same legal force and effect as if executed by
Employee.
2.6 Employee represents that all developments, inventions, works of
authorship or other intellectual property rights to which Employee claims
ownership as of the date of this Agreement (the "Employee Developments"), and
which the parties agree are excluded from this Agreement, are listed in
Exhibit A attached hereto. If no such Employee Developments are listed on
Exhibit A, Employee represents that there are no such Employee Developments at
the time of signing this Agreement.
3. Confidential Information.
3.1 Employee agrees that all Confidential Information as defined above,
whether furnished to Employee by the Corporation or developed solely by
Employee or with others and whether or not developed in whole or in part with
the use of other Confidential Information disclosed to Employee by Topical_Net,
Inc., shall be Confidential Information of Topical_Net, Inc. Employee further
agrees that no Confidential Information shall be disclosed by Employee to any
third party (not including another employee of Topical_Net, Inc., unless
specifically directed otherwise) during employment by Topical_Net, Inc. or
after termination thereof, or used by Employee after termination of employment
with Topical_Net, Inc., except as permitted or directed by Topical_Net, Inc.'s
President.
3.2 Except as directed by Employee's supervisor, Employee shall never,
directly or indirectly, use, publish, disseminate or otherwise disclose any
Third Party Confidential Information.
4. Use and Return of Documents.
Employee will not copy any Documents nor remove any Documents or copies
thereof from Topical_Net, Inc.'s premises except to the extent necessary to
his/her employment and then only with the authorization of Employee's
supervisor. Upon the termination of Employee's employment with Topical_Net,
Inc., Employee shall return immediately to Topical_Net, Inc. any and all
Documents and copies thereof then in his/her possession or control.
5. Restrictions on Competition.
5.1 Restricted Activity. During Employee's employment with Topical_Net,
Inc., Employee shall not provide services, including but not limited to
marketing, computer programming, sales, or product promotion or development,
as an employee, stockholder, partner, co-venturer, independent contractor, or
otherwise, anywhere in the world, on behalf of any business organization
engaged in direct or indirect competition with Topical_Net, Inc., nor shall
Employee engage in such activities on his/her own behalf.
For nine months after termination for any reason of Employee's employment with
Topical_Net, Inc., absent Topical_Net, Inc.'s prior written approval, Employee
shall not provide services, including but not limited to marketing, computer
programming, sales, or product promotion or development, as an employee,
stockholder, partner, co-venturer, independent contractor, or otherwise,
anywhere in the world, on behalf of any business organization engaged in
direct or indirect competition with Topical_Net, Inc., nor shall Employee
engage in such activities on his/her own behalf. Employee understands that
Topical_Net, Inc. shall give Employee its written approval to engage in such
activities if Topical_Net, Inc. secures written assurances reasonably
satisfactory to Topical_Net, Inc. from Employee and from any such prospective
employer or organization for which Employee will engage in such activities
that the integrity of the Confidential Information, including without
limitation nonpatented Inventions, and relationships with clients, will not in
any way be jeopardized by any such activities or employment.
If satisfactory written assurances as described above are not obtained, then
Topical_Net, Inc. shall either (1) waive the application of the Restrictions on
Competition to the business relationship in question or (2) agree to make the
monthly payments described below for a period of nine months following
termination. Such monthly payments shall be in an amount equal to 1/12 of
Employee's annual base compensation (excluding any other extra compensation,
bonus, commission, or employee benefit) which Employee received immediately
prior to termination. Such monthly payments will be reduced by the amount of
any compensation Employee receives from employment or personal service during
the nine months following termination. In addition, if permitted by the
benefits providers, Topical_Net, Inc. will give Employee the option of
maintaining the same status as a member of Topical_Net, Inc.'s medical and/or
dental insurance plans for the nine months following termination. If Employee
elects this option, then Topical_Net, Inc. will deduct the normal medical
and/or dental employee contribution from the monthly payment. Monthly
payments will commence on the second regular pay date following termination.
Employee understands that Topical_Net, Inc. has the right to discontinue
payments and participation in the benefits plans upon the happening of any of
the following:
(i) Employee obtains employment or a personal service relationship that
does not violate the restrictions in this Section 5.1;
(ii) Employee violates any of the provisions of this Agreement; or
(iii) Employee dies.
Employee further understands that discontinuance of monthly payments by
Topical_Net, Inc. for any reason shall not be considered a liquidation of
damages suffered by Topical_Net, Inc. In the event that Employee breaches this
Agreement, then Topical_Net, Inc. may avail itself of any remedies otherwise
available under applicable law or equity for Employee's breach of this
Agreement.
5.2 Notice of Subsequent Employment. If satisfactory written assurances
as described in Paragraph 5.1 are not obtained, then Employee shall, for a
period of nine months after the termination of employment with Topical_Net,
Inc., notify Topical_Net, Inc. of any change of address, and of any subsequent
employment (stating the name and address of the employer and the nature of the
position) or other business activity.
5.3 Enticement. For a period of one year after termination of employment
with Topical_Net, Inc. or the last monthly payment, if any, of Section 5.1,
whichever is later, Employee will not attempt to hire, or hire any employee of
Topical_Net, Inc., or assist in such hiring by anyone else, to work as an
employee or independent contractor, with any business directly or indirectly
competitive with Topical_Net, Inc.'s business.
6. Publicity.
The Corporation, its subsidiaries and affiliates may use Employee's name
and likeness in or in connection with any technical or promotional material
published by them, without further compensation to Employee.
7. Employment.
7.1 Employment at Will. Employee agrees that this Agreement does not
create an obligation on the part of Topical_Net, Inc. to continue Employee's
employment with Topical_Net, Inc. Employee agrees that Employee's employment
with Topical_Net, Inc. is "at will" and either Topical_Net, Inc. or Employee may
terminate Employee's employment with Topical_Net, Inc. at any time with or
without cause.
7.2 No Other Agreement. Employee warrants that Employee is not subject
to any agreement or obligation with any other party which would or could in
any way conflict with Employee's obligation under this agreement, except as
set forth in Exhibit B.
7.3 Entire Agreement. This Agreement represents the sole agreement
between Topical_Net, Inc. and Employee and there are no other agreements oral
or written, related to employment with Topical_Net, Inc. or Employee's post-
employment obligations to Topical_Net, Inc. Employee agrees that any
modification of this Agreement by any employee or agent of Topical_Net, Inc.
will not be effective unless it is done by written amendment signed by a
corporate officer of Topical_Net, Inc. and Employee.
8. Miscellaneous.
8.1 Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in
accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Ma, excluding its
conflicts of laws rules. Jurisdiction over any action to enforce this
Agreement, or any dispute arising form or relating to this Agreement, shall
subsist solely in the state and/or federal courts located within the
Commonwealth of Ma.
8.2 Remedies. Employee acknowledges that in the event of a breach of the
provisions of Sections 2, 3, 4, or 5, the damages to Topical_Net, Inc. would be
irreparable and would entail inevitable wrongful use or disclosure of the
Confidential Information and/or Third Party Confidential Information. Employee
therefore agrees that in addition to provable damages and reasonable
attorneys' fees, Topical_Net, Inc. shall be entitled to enjoin any such breach
in any competent court.
8.3 Interpretation. If any one or more of the provisions contained in
this Agreement shall, for any reason, be held to be invalid, illegal or
unenforceable in any respect, it shall not affect any other provisions of this
Agreement. If any provision in this Agreement shall be held to be excessively
broad, it shall be construed by limiting it so as to be enforceable to the
extent compatible with applicable law.
8.4 Assignment. This Agreement shall bind and inure to the benefit of
Topical_Net, Inc. and any successor of Topical_Net, Inc. by reorganization,
merger, consolidation or liquidation and any assignee of all or substantially
all of its business or assets, but otherwise this Agreement may not be
assigned by Topical_Net, Inc. or Employee.
8.5 Waiver of Breach. The waiver by any party of a breach of any
provision of this Agreement shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of
any subsequent breach.
8.6 Existing Employment Relationship: If this Agreement is executed by
Employee after the start of employment with Topical_Net, Inc., it is deemed to
have been in effect since the inception of the employment relationship.
EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT HE/SHE HAS READ EACH PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT
CAREFULLY AND UNDERSTANDS, ACCEPTS AND AGREES TO BE BOUND BY EACH SUCH
PROVISION.
EMPLOYEE: ____________________________________
Print Name: ____________________________________
TOPICAL_NET, INC.
By: ____________________________________
Print Name: ____________________________________
Title: ____________________________________