definiens: shall mean any proprietary, confidential information ( whether or no t patentable or copyrightable ), whether or not so marked, that is not generally known to third parties and that has actual or potential economic value by reason of not being generally known . Confidential Information includes, without limitation, trade secr ets, and nonpublic know -how, data, processes, formulas, methods, technology, manufacturing techniques, cost and pricing information, sales and marketing information, and information of third parties held by a Party in confidence . Documents and things conta ining or embodying Confidential Information are Confidential Information . Confidential Information does not include information that : ( a ) was known to the receiving party, as evidenced by the receiving party ’s written records, before receipt from the disclosing party ; ( b ) is disclosed to the receiving party by a third person who is under no obligation of confidentiality to the disclosi ng party hereunder with respect to such information and who otherwise has a right to make such disclosure ; ( c ) is or becomes generally known to the public through no fault of the receiving party ; ( d ) is independently developed by the receiving party, as established by the receiving party ’s contemporaneous written records, without access to or reliance on the other Party ’s Confidential Information ; or ( e ) is required to be disclosed by law, rule or regulation of any court or regulatory authority of competent jurisdiction ; provided, that a Party required to disclose the other Party ’s Confidential Information shall notify the other Party as soon as possible a nd, if requested by the other Party, use reasonable good faith efforts, at its own expense, to assist in seeking a protective order ( or equivalent protection ) with respect to such disclosure or otherwise take reasonable steps to avoid making such disclosur e