Confidentiality Agreements

Instant Access

A nondisclosure agreement or confidentiality agreement helps protect the information you disclose to your employee or another party. The recipient of the confidential information agrees not disclose it to anyone else.

The exception is when both parties agree not to disclose information provided to each other. For this situation you would use a mutual nondisclosure agreement.

Ideally, the confidentiality agreement will deter the recipient of such information from using it in any way that could harm your business, or potential business; such as by stealing ideas, inventions, trade secrets, and intellectual property.

Using nondisclosure agreements can also prevent the forfeiture of your patent rights. Under U.S. law, the public disclosure of an invention can be deemed as a forfeiture of patent rights in that invention. A properly drafted confidentiality agreement can avoid this often unintentional, but disastrous forfeiture of your valuable patent rights.

Should the recipient of the confidential information disclose it to another individual or company, the injured party has cause to claim a breach of contract and can seek injunctive relief and monetary damages.

Who might use a confidentiality agreement?

• Employers to employees
• Business partners among themselves
• Businesses to their vendors
• Businesses to representatives evaluating their products.
• Business owners selling their business to potential buyers
• Inventors seeking advice from other parties
• Entrepreneurs seeking advice for new business ideas from other parties

We offer you the following attorney-drafted confidentiality agreements:

• Agreement between employer and employee
• Agreement between any two parties
• Mutual confidentiality agreement between two parties

Some of the topics covered in our confidentiality agreements:

• Use of confidential information by recipient
• Defining confidential information
• Care of confidential information
• Liability for disclosure of confidential information
• Employment topics (for employee)
• Business relationship of parties
• Obligations to third parties
• Implied license about confidential information
• Returning of confidential documents, photos and information
• Severability
• Governing law
• Terms of agreement