The Executive hereby covenants and agrees that, except as specifically requested or directed by the CONSOL Companies, the Executive will not disclose to any person not employed by the CONSOL Companies, or use in connection with engaging in competition with the CONSOL Companies, any confidential or proprietary information (as defined below) of the CONSOL Companies. For purposes of this Agreement, the term "confidential or proprietary information" will include all information of any nature and in any form that is owned by the CONSOL Companies and that is not publicly available (other than by the Executive's breach of this Section 9) or generally known to persons engaged in businesses similar or related to those of the CONSOL Companies. Confidential or proprietary information will include, without limitation, the CONSOL Companies' financial matters, customers, employees, industry contracts, strategic business plans, product development (or other proprietary product data), marketing plans, consulting solutions and processes, and all other secrets and all other information of a confidential or proprietary nature which is protected by the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. For purposes of the preceding two sentences, the term "CONSOL Companies" will also include any Subsidiary of any CONSOL Company (collectively, the " Restricted Group "). The foregoing obligations imposed by this Section 9 will not apply (i) in the course of the business of and for the benefit of the CONSOL Companies, (ii) if such confidential or proprietary information has become, through no fault of the Executive, generally known to the public, or (iii) if the Executive is required by law to make disclosure (after giving the CONSOL Companies notice and an opportunity to contest such requirement).