NDA
What does NDA Stand for and what does NDA mean?
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract between two or more parties that clarifies and limits the spread of private information or material. With an NDA, all parties agree to keep the information confidential, thereby protecting it from being accessed by others. A key caveat is a contract cannot be enforced if the information or activities are illegal; otherwise, regular rules apply.
NDAs are used in potential joint business ventures or when an employee joins or leaves an organization. They commonly take the form of either mutual or non-mutual agreements, depending on the nature of the contract.
When it comes to intellectual property (IP), an NDA contract is incredibly useful for building a strong foundation and leveraging it to success. It can cover anything from proprietary formulas and trade secrets to client lists and non-public accounting figures.
It’s important to note that public records, such as information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are not included in an NDA because there’s no need to keep publicly-accessed information private.
Other Names for NDA
- Confidentiality agreement
- Confidential disclosure agreement
- Hush agreement
- Proprietary information agreement
- Secrecy agreement
- Non-disparagement agreement
Why are NDAs Important?
NDAs are important to protect valuable information that could be used or manipulated by others if they were to gain access, impairing the original parties’ ability to capitalize on their work and resources to complete a goal. For example, during the innovation process, an NDA is useful for protecting profitable ideas, especially during the initial 18 months during a patent application when that application is kept private from databases. Punishments for breaching an NDA can include financial penalties commensurate with potential profits, lawsuits, or other avenues of recourse.
In today’s highly competitive world, where ideas and technologies are generated at a rapid pace, it’s crucial to protect all ideas, efforts, and results to limit others’ abilities to use them for their own purposes because time is of the essence. Some NDAs are limited to a specific time period, while others can last indefinitely. Whichever agreement you choose depends on the scope of work, how many people are involved, what competitors are doing, and more.
While an NDA isn’t a guarantee that sensitive information won’t fall into the wrong hands, it can be an excellent and robust tool used to protect IP during the innovation process.
