This policy affects all employees, including board members, investors, contractors and volunteers, who may have access to our confidential information.

Any and all  information that an employee learns about VHN, it’s clients, contractors, distributors, wholesalers, press contacts, or other professional relationships made available as a result of working with or for VHN that is not otherwise publicly available constitutes confidential information. Employees may not disclose confidential information to anyone who is not employed by VHN or to other persons employed by VHN who does not need to know such information to assist in rendering services. 

Privileged or confidential information including contacts will be indicated verbally and  labeled physically to the best of our employees abilities. Knowing time is the most precious commodity in any work environment not all information may be labeled. All employees must proceed with extreme caution and always ask your superior before divulging any company information publicly. 

What employees should do:

Discussions involving sensitive information should always be held in confidential settings to safeguard the confidentiality of the information. Conversations regarding confidential information generally should not be conducted on cellular phones, or in elevators, restrooms, restaurants, or other public places where conversations might be overheard.

• Lock or secure confidential information at all times.

• Shred confidential documents when they’re no longer needed (after digital copies are secured).

• Make sure you only view confidential information on secure devices.

• Only disclose information to other employees when it’s necessary and authorized.

• Keep confidential documents inside our company’s premises unless it’s absolutely necessary to move them.

What employees shouldn’t do:

• Use confidential information for any personal benefit or profit

• Disclose confidential information to anyone outside of our company

• Replicate confidential documents and files and store them on insecure devices

When employees stop working for our company, they’re obliged to return any confidential files and delete them from their personal devices.

Confidentiality Measures:

We’ll take measures to ensure that confidential information is well protected. We will:

• Store and lock paper documents

• Encrypt electronic information and safeguard databases

• Ask employees to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)

• Ask for authorization from senior management to allow employees to access certain confidential information

Exceptions:

Confidential information may occasionally have to be disclosed for legitimate reasons. Examples are:

• If a regulatory body requests it as part of an investigation or audit

• If our company examines a venture or partnership that requires disclosing some information (within legal boundaries)

In such cases, employees involved should document their disclosure procedure and collect all needed authorizations. We’re bound to avoid disclosing more information than needed.

Disciplinary Consequence:

The disclosure, distribution, electronic transmission or copying of VHN's confidential information and proprietary information is strictly prohibited. Any employee who discloses confidential VHN information will be subject to disciplinary action including possible dismissal and / or legal action, even if he or she does not actually benefit from the disclosure of such information. 

We will investigate every breach of this policy. We will terminate any employee who willfully or regularly breaches our confidentiality guidelines for personal profit. We may also have to punish any unintentional breach of this policy depending on its frequency and seriousness. We will terminate employees who repeatedly disregard this policy, even when they do so unintentionally. This policy is binding even after separation of employment.

 I understand the above policy and pledge not to disclose VHN’s confidential information. Furthermore the protection of privileged and confidential information, including trade secrets, is vital to the interests and the success of VHN. Such information is secret, valuable, expensive and easily replicated and includes, but is not limited to the following examples:

• Client / Customer List (Existing and Prospective)

• Business documents (including this one)

• Design concepts / Ideas

• Invention concepts / Ideas

• Business concepts / Ideas

• Design patents  (including but not limited to: before filing, & before issued)

• Utility patents (including but not limited to: before filing, & before issued)

• Manufacturing Techniques

• Material Recipes

• Formulas

• Advertising campaign material

• Sale discount codes

• Client contact information and the private use or distributions there of

• Members of the Press contact information and the private use or distributions there of 

• Potential New Clients and the disclosure there of

• Compensation Data

• Unpublished Financial Information

• Pending Projects and Proposals

• Consumer, Partner, Client, or Vendor Data

• Data entrusted to our company by external parties

• Pricing/marketing and other undisclosed strategies

• Documents and processes explicitly marked as confidential

• Unpublished goals, forecasts and initiatives marked as confidential

ALL VHN Employees are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement as a condition of employment.