17. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The Employee (whether permanent or on contract) shall not, either during or after his/her employment hereunder, divulge or utilize any confidential information belonging to the Company or any of its Associated Companies which may have come to his/her knowledge during his/her employment hereunder or during his/her employment under any previous contract of service with the Company or any of its Associated Companies; and he shall, both during and after his/her employment hereunder, take all reasonable precautions to keep all such information secret.
Except so far as may be necessary for the purposes of his/her duties hereunder, the Employee shall not, without the consent of the Company retain or make originals or copies of letters, reports, agreements or other documents of whatever nature belonging to the Company or any of its Associated Companies, or notes thereof, nor retain samples or specimens in which the Company or any of its Associated Companies may be or may have been interested and which have come into his/her possession by reason of his/her employment hereunder. If on the termination of his/her hereunder you are in possession of any originals or copies of any of the said documents, or other documents of whatever nature belonging to the Company or Associated Companies, he shall deliver the same to the Company without being asked, except so far as consent to retain them has been given to him/her by the Company. Any such consent shall not of itself relieve him/her from his/her obligations.