Blackberry 2015 Annual Report Download - page 214

64 BlackBerry Code of Business Standards and Principles Contents
• Insider trading. Buying or selling securities while
in possession of inside information. See also Inside
information; tipping.
• Intellectual property. Exclusive rights to
intangible assets derived through invention such as
copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial designs,
trade dress and trade secrets. These rights allow
creators or owners of the protected asset to benefit
from their work on or investment in whatever has
been created. Virtually all intellectual property
developed by BlackBerry employees in the course
of their employment belongs to BlackBerry.
See also BlackBerry assets.
• Internal controls. Almost any protocols,
programs, tools, limitations, checks and balances,
testing mechanisms, trainings, communications
or other means by which a company seeks to
mitigate a risk and prevent or identify potential
misconduct. Examples include codes of
conduct, policies and procedures, compliance
training, monetary approval limits, signing
authorities, payment controls, audits and
other reviews, risk assessments, and internal
reporting mechanisms.
• Local laws. These are the laws, rules and
regulations that apply in a particular country, and
could include federal, state, municipal or other
level legal obligations applicable to BlackBerry or a
person or entity operating on BlackBerry’s behalf
in that country.
• Material non-public information. Non-public
information about the business or aairs of
BlackBerry is material if it would reasonably be
expected to have a significant eect on the
market price or value of BlackBerry securities
or if a reasonable investor would consider it
important in making a decision to buy, sell or
hold BlackBerry securities.
• Monetary approval authority. Thresholds defining
the monetary limits below which BlackBerry
employees have authority to approve or commit to
expenditures of Company funds, and above which
they must obtain approval from an employee
with a higher level of approval authority.
See also Signing authority.
• Money laundering. A process whereby transactions
with a legitimate business are used to conceal
funds generated by illegal activities to make them
appear to be legitimate.
• Outside activities. Any business activity conducted
outside the scope of one’s employment with
BlackBerry, including establishment of, operation
of or employment by a non-BlackBerry business
(whether full or part-time), and participating
on a board of directors or advisory board (which
non-profit or for-profit).
• Outside financial interest. An ownership, equity
or investment interest you hold in an organization
other than BlackBerry.
• Personal information. Information about an
identifiable individual.
• Public ocial. Public ocials include anyone
serving in or employed by a national, state,
provincial or local government body or agency,
such as elected ocials, appointed ocials and
civil servants. Examples include:
• legislators and governors
• employees of public universities or local
school systems
• employees of the national, state or local
government
Public ocials may also include:
• employees or representatives of companies
owned or controlled, in whole or in part, by
governments (including carrier customers)
• members of royal families
• ocers or employees of public international
organizations, such as the United Nations or
World Bank
• ocials and employees of political parties
• candidates for foreign political oce
• any other private person acting in an ocial
capacity for or on behalf of the government
(e.g., a consultant hired by a government
entity to work on its behalf).
See also Government ocial.
• Retaliation. Depending on the facts and
circumstances, this can include almost any adverse
employment action taken against an individual in
direct response to that individual having exercised
a right or otherwise engaged in a protected activity
in good faith. Examples of retaliatory conduct could