In assessing the legitimate interest of a covenantee under a restraint of trade, the interest may reflect the broad commercial objectives discernible from the nature of the business and the character of the transaction, and need not be demonstrably harnessed to specific contractual obligations. The reasonableness of a restraint in an exclusive distribution agreement is assessed by reference to the natural and probable exercise of contractual powers, excluding completely unreal hypotheses. An incomplete force majeure clause with an unspecified time period may be severed where it stands apart from the balance of the agreement and operates only in highly unusual circumstances.
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