CONFIDENTIALITY COVENANT
In consideration of (1) the opportunity provided to me to work as a member of the staff of Church Western United States (“CSWUS”), (2) the staff stipend, allowances, (3) and the room, board and other amenities I received in exchange for such employment, I _________________________________, of ____________________________, (City, State and Country), sign the following Confidentiality Covenant (“Covenant”) and agree as follows:
1. I have signed a Covenant Regarding Service as a Religious Worker with CSWUS and am currently a staff member of this Church. I am also a member of the Sea Organization (“Sea Org”), a religious fraternal order, with its own rituals and traditions that exemplify and foster members” shared and deeply-held commitment to the religion. As a Sea Org member, I have pledged myself to eternal service to the Scientology faith.
2. It is only by being a Sea Org member that I am eligible to be a religious worker and staff member of CSWUS. As part of my commitment to the religion, I willingly agree to abide by the obligations stated herein, with the understanding that if I did not so agree, I would not be permitted to be a CSWUS staff member, nor benefit from that membership, both in a religious and a worldly context.
3. I further recognize that I have a duty of trust, both religious and secular, to all Churches of Scientology and to the Religious Technology Center ("RTC") not to use or disclose any Confidential Information (as defined below). My intention in signing this Covenant is to protect RTC, Church of Spiritual Technology (“CST”), Church of Scientology International (“CSI”), all Scientology Churches or Missions, (collectively “Scientology Organizations”) and the Scientology religion, from the disclosure of Confidential Information as set forth herein, or which may tend to injure or otherwise adversely affect any of the Scientology Organizations, or any of their activities, functions, plans, programs or personnel.
4. Accordingly, I agree and understand that any Confidential information that I may receive, have access to, or otherwise gain awareness of, comes within my possession exclusively to permit me to perform my obligations as an employee of CSWUS and that any use of such Confidential Information must be exclusively for the purpose of performing my duties and obligations as a CSWUS employee.
5. Confidential Information includes, but is not limited to the following:
A. Church policies, directives or other issues with limited distributions, or information concerning them or relating to security of information concerning Scientology Organizations;
B. Information, data, or knowledge relating to Scientology Organizations or any other Church of Scientology“s internal structures, security systems, functions, devices and inventions which are owned and which are regularly used by CSWUS, CSI or RTC, confidential activities, memos, correspondence, electronic information, security matters, financial information, attorney-client privileged information, plans, programs, strategies, projects, or any other information about any of the Scientology Organizations, or the Scientology religion, which are not expressly authorized to be disclosed by CSWUS, CSI or the respective Scientology Organization.
C. Specialized, confidential religious compilations of, and communications concerning, projects, designs, plans, processes, management systems, organization functions, structures, schedules and activities.
D. Information regarding L. Ron Hubbard, CSWUS executives and staff, CSI executives and staff, RTC executives and staff, including David Miscavige and the staff of his office, including their activities and whereabouts.
E. Financial and ecclesiastical information regarding CSWUS, CSI, RTC, the Scientology religion, and the Churches, organizations, personnel and groups affiliated with the Scientology religion.
F. Personal information regarding Scientology Organizations” staff or executives or former staff or executives and their schedules, activities and private counseling, including auditing, confessionals or use of the Scientology ethics technology, as well as their participation in any Church activities;
G. Personal information regarding Scientology Organizations” public or parishioners and their schedules, activities, and private counseling, including auditing, confessionals or the use of Scientology ethics technology, as well as their participation in any Church activities;
H. Expansion plans or programs of any Scientology Organizations or related organization that have not yet been released to general Church of Scientology staff or public;
I. Any and all materials, issues, procedures designated as Upper Level, Advanced Courses or Advanced Material, including but not limited to the State of Clear, R6, R6EW, Power, OT I, OT II, OT III, OT IV, OT V, OT VI, OT VII, OT VIII, OT IX, OT X, NOTS, Solo NOTS and any other OT level or other confidential level not here identified.
J. Any information which is considered by Scientology Organizations to be trade secret, including but not limited to any and all Advanced Courses or Upper Level materials or procedures;
K. Any information which relates to subjects concerning proprietary rights of Scientology Organizations such as any copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets;
L. Any other information obtained through activities on behalf of Scientology Organizations, which relate to the operations or activities of any Church of Scientology, whether or not formally designated as "Confidential" which may not be generally known by or available to, the public or which, if disclosed, would tend to injure or otherwise adversely affect any Scientology Organizations, any related entity, or any of their respective activities, functions, plans, programs or personnel. To the extent there is any question about the confidential status of any such matter, it is incumbent upon the party to this Covenant to verify this with a qualified CSI staff member before making any use or disclosure of it in any fashion.
M. As contemplated in this paragraph of this Covenant, I acknowledge and concur in defining “Confidential Information” in the broadest sense to include all facts, data, information and other things, in whatever form they are communicated or preserved, that I have and will encounter in my employment by CSWUS even those matters which I may learn or have learned of without specific authorization, whether or not directly related to my employment duties and activities, and that the term includes all information that CSWUS, CSI, RTC, the Office of the Chairman of the Board RTC, and other Churches, organizations, personnel, and groups affiliated with the Scientology religion maintain internally as confidential and do not disclose to others.
6. I further understand and agree that any Confidential Information that I have learned or obtained or received to date, or will learn or will obtain hereafter, is, and will remain, confidential and will not be used, revealed, disclosed, imparted, posted on any electronic media or disseminated by me, or by anyone acting on my behalf, in whole or in part, in any manner, by any means or media, to anyone not expressly authorized by CSI to have access to such information or who has not himself or herself signed a covenant as to its confidentiality. I acknowledge that the obligations set forth in this paragraph will remain in force in perpetuity.
7. The purpose of the broad definition of what is deemed confidential and the scope of the confidentiality obligation I am undertaking is to avoid any and all future disclosure, to avoid any future conflict concerning that definition or the scope of the obligation and to afford the broadest protection to CSWUS and CSI“s Confidential Information, and to that end, the definition is to be given the most liberal interpretation consistent with the words used.
8. Under no circumstances will I utter, write, print, post, disseminate, circulate, quote or publish any kind of statement in any form, which is defamatory or disparaging against any of the Scientology Organizations, either directly or indirectly, unless, as a Knowledge Report to appropriate Scientology Organizations. I acknowledge that the obligations set forth in this paragraph will remain in force in perpetuity.
9. In executing this Covenant, I am knowingly and voluntarily waiving what otherwise might be construed as rights under the California and United States Constitutions, or the Constitutions or laws of any other state or nation, specifically my First Amendment right to free speech under the United States Constitution and its California Constitutional equivalent or international equivalents with respect to all promises, covenants, duties, and obligations I make and acknowledge in this Covenant.
10. I will never voluntarily assist, aid, or consult in any manner any person, group or organization hostile to or engaged in attacks against the Scientology religion, or who has been hostile to or engaged in attacks against the Scientology religion or against any of the Scientology Organizations and who is engaged in any effort to harass or injure any of the Scientology Organizations, their staff, public or parishioners. Further I will not voluntarily assist in any manner any person or entity involved in or contemplating investigation, litigation, or arbitration against any of the Scientology Organizations, or any related entities, whether as a plaintiff or as a defendant, unless compelled to do so by proper, non-collusive service of a subpoena or other lawful process upon me. If I am served with such a subpoena or other process by a third party seeking testimony and/or the production of documents concerning any of the Scientology Organizations, I shall notify CSI through its corporate secretary or any of its officers within two (2) days of receipt of such service, and shall furnish him or her with a copy of any such subpoena or process. I acknowledge that the obligations set forth in this paragraph will remain in force in perpetuity.
11. I understand and agree never to create or electronically post or publish or attempt to publish, and/or assist another to create for publication or posting by means of newspaper story, magazine, article, book or other similar form, any writing, or to broadcast, or to assist another to create, write, film, video tape, audio tape, or electronically post, any news program, show, program or movie, concerning my experiences with, knowledge of, or information concerning, the Scientology religion, or any of the entities mentioned in Scientology Organizations, or any of their respective staff, former staff, officers, former officers, directors, former directors, parishioners, or former parishioners of any entity identified in this paragraph, without the prior written consent of CSI. I acknowledge that the obligations set forth in this paragraph will remain in force in perpetuity.
12. I understand and agree that I have an obligation of absolute confidentiality of the fact, manner, substance and content of parishioners” religious services (all of them). I acknowledge that Scientology parishioners and staff receiving religious services possess a right to confidentiality of communications made in the capacity of a penitent, communicant, pre-clear or pre-OT except as so limited in authorized Church policies. I acknowledge that most states and nations similarly require by clergy-communicant or penitent communications be maintained as confidential.
13. If I breach this Covenant, I agree that CSI and/or CSWUS and/or the parishioner whose privilege I violated shall have the right to seek an ex parte (i.e. without notice to me), issuance of temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctive relief against me, without bond, in any court of competent jurisdiction, to prohibit me from breaching or further breaching this Covenant or threatening to breach this Covenant and to compel me to comply with the terms of this Covenant. I agree that if CSI, CSWUS or any other Church of Scientology or any Church parishioner has to take such legal action against me because I have threatened or attempted to or did violate the obligations of this Covenant, or if any of the Scientology Organizations, initiate an action to enforce the obligations herein, or to resolve any dispute concerning the interpretation of the obligations herein, then I will be liable for all reasonable attorney's fees and court costs arising from such action.
14. I further agree that in the event that I breach any of the obligations in this Covenant, the breach is irremediable by monetary damages and therefore the calculation of damages caused would be difficult or impossible to assess. For any breach that occurs prior to injunctive relief being obtained, I WILL PAY TO THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($20,000.00) FOR EACH AND EVERY BREACH as liquidated damages. I agree that this sum has been chosen because actual damages would be impractical, extremely difficult or impossible to set. I understand that this amount is not a penalty, but an agreed sum for EACH breach of the obligations in this Covenant. I also agree that this remedy is not exclusive of other remedies, including the imposition of actual damages arising out of such breach, provided for herein.
15. In addition to the secular actions that CSI can take against me if I violate this Covenant, I agree and understand that there are severe ecclesiastical penalties which could be imposed against me as a staff member for a violation of the obligations in this Covenant. I know that these penalties include, but are not limited to, (a) any and all ecclesiastical justice procedures and any and all internal ecclesiastical discipline under the tenets of the Scientology religion; and (b) dismissal as an employee of CSI.
17. I have executed this Covenant willingly, voluntarily, and without coercion or duress of any kind, and with the intent that all obligations I have undertaken and all representations I have made herein will remain in full force and effect and binding upon me irrespective of my status as a Scientologist in good standing.
18. I understand and agree that this Covenant does not replace, modify, supersede, diminish, or otherwise impact my obligations under any other Confidentiality Covenant or similar document that I have signed in the past or will sign in the future and the obligations of this Covenant will remain in force in perpetuity.
20. This Covenant shall be construed, interpreted, governed, and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of California without reference to conflicts of law.
22. By my signature below, I attest that I have read this document thoroughly; I understand the covenants and promises that I am making herein; I understand the importance of this document and I am willingly signing it.
Executed this ___ day of ___________________ at ________________
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[Signature]
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Witness
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