* * *MEMO * * * [EMPLOYEE NAME], “Company”
To:
From: August 12, 2008 Date: [ADDRESS] Re: Employee Exit Procedures re Proprietary Information
1. As a consequence of your employment with ("Company"), you have received or been exposed to certain confidential and proprietary information of Company of considerable value, including, without limitation, sales information, customer lists, prospective customer lists, sales methods, computer source code, algorithms, system documentation, user manuals, formulas, compilers, data structures, modification reports, and training instructions for Company's computer programs (collectively referred to as "Proprietary Information"). This information is protected by both trade secret law and copyright law. 2. You have contributed to the development of Proprietary Information in the course of your employment with Company. Pursuant to the terms of the [SPECIFY TYPE OF AGREEMENT] you executed on or about [DATE], you specifically agreed that all right, title, and interest in and to any [SPECIFY TYPE OF WORK] conceived or developed by you, whether in whole or in part, during the course of your employment with Company were the property of Company as works made for hire under federal copyright law, and, in addition, you executed an assignment agreement conveying all copyright and other proprietary interests therein to Company. [Alternative provision] 2. You have contributed to the development of Proprietary Information in the course of your employment with Company. As provided in Company's Statement Regarding Proprietary Information, all right, title, and interest in and to any [SPECIFY TYPE OF WORK] conceived or developed by you, whether in whole or in part, during the course of your employment with Company, reside with Company. 3. You are obligated to refrain from any further use or disclosure of Proprietary Information of Company for so long as such information continues to embody trade secret material of Company. Additionally, Company claims the copyright in all such information under federal copyright law and treats such works as unpublished works. Company reserves all of its rights in the Proprietary Information, and you may not use such information in any manner contrary to (1) the confidentiality obligations arising under the trade secret policies of Company and the [SPECIFY TYPE OF CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT] or (2) the copyright interests of Company in such works.
4. You are prohibited from taking with you any Proprietary Information or other materials or property of Company upon termination of employment from Company, and by your acknowledgment below, you certify that you have returned to Company all such Proprietary Information and other materials and property that were in your possession or under your control at any time during your employment with Company. 5. You acknowledge that the unauthorized disclosure or use of any Proprietary Information of Company could cause irreparable harm and significant injury to Company, which may be difficult to measure with certainty or to compensate through damages. Accordingly, in any petition to a court of competent jurisdiction brought by Company seeking injunctive or other equitable relief to prevent such unauthorized use or disclosure, you agree that you shall not offer evidence or otherwise urge that such relief is inappropriate. 6. You acknowledge that you have read, signed, and been furnished with a copy of (1) [specify, e.g., company statement regarding proprietary information, company policy on conflict of interest and business ethics] and (2) [SPECIFY CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT]. Further, you acknowledge that you understand your responsibilities thereunder and with respect to all Proprietary Information of Company and that you will take no actions inconsistent therewith. 7. You further understand and agree that your signature below constitutes your review and concurrence with the matters contained herein.
For Company:
Employee:
(Please sign above and print name and title here) Date: August 12, 2008
(Please sign above and print name and title here) Date: August 12, 2008