A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement, is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential materials or knowledge the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes while, at the same time, restricting one another from disclosing that information to others.

NDA's are commonly signed when two parties are considering doing business and need to understand the processes used in each other's business, for the purpose of evaluating the potential business relationship; or when a party has an invention or some other information that he or she wants to go to market with and needs third party help to do so - typically in the form of investment, prototyping and manufacturing support, marketing expertise, or other such consultaion. NDA's can be "mutual," meaning both parties are restricted in their use of the materials provided, or they can restrict the use of material by a single party. It is also possible for an employee to sign an NDA or similar type of confidentiality agreement with an employer. In fact, many employment agreements will include a clause restricting employees' use and dissemination of company-owned "confidential information."

As such, an NDA can be a very effective tool for creating a confidential relationship between parties in order to protect any type of confidential or proprietary information, especially intellectual property such as inventions or trade secrets. The first step in deciding on the appropriate content for an NDA is to determine the type of information to be disclosed, the purpose in doing so, and thus the type of agreement that you need.

If you are in need of an enforceable non-disclosure agreement to maintain the confidentiality of your intellectual property, or simply would like more information, we invite you to call 888-789-5789 or email us to schedule your FREE initial consultation, during which we can explain the importance of confidentiality to you in more detail, draft an NDA (or confidentiality terms to be inserted into a larger agreement) that is tailored to accommodate your particular needs, and answer any follow-up questions that you may have.