Non-solicitation, in contract law, refers to an agreement, typically between an employer and employee, that prohibits an employee from utilizing the company's clients, customers and contact lists for personal gain upon leaving the company.
They may be entered into with both employees and independent contractors—in addition to multiple entities—as part of a larger general contract or as a standalone provision.
[3] A non-solicitation agreement that is too widely construed may violate standards of "reasonableness" (decided on a case-by-case basis).
[5] In Canada, non-solicitation agreements came under restrictive scrutiny in 2016, when the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench considered the issue in Specialized Property Evaluation Control Services Ltd. V. Les Evaluations Marc Bourret Appraisals Inc.
[6] In the United Kingdom, in the case of Safetynet Security Ltd. v Leonard Coppage and Freedom Security Solutions Ltd., the court held that an employment contract clause preventing an individual from contacting any former customers for six months after leaving the company "had clearly been agreed to by him throughout his contract and was reasonable and enforceable".