Non Disclosure Agreemet (NDA)

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What is Non Disclosure Agreement?

Non Disclosure Agreements are basically agreements signed between two people or entities which put down in writing that confidential information is being passed from one person to another, the nature of the information, the purpose and most importantly an undertaking from the person receiving the information not to reveal it to anyone for a specified period of time.

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Non Disclosure Agreement Sample Format Features

Nature of the Protected Information
Any information which may not be in public domain, or generally known, may be protected by a non-disclosure agreement. It can protect any sort of confidential information like
#1 a concept for a new restaurant
#2 a new business venture
#3 Any sort of confidential business information that could be of value to others if it were disclosed.

A non-disclosure agreement would ideally lay down the boundaries, the information within which should not be disclosed. The nature of information that comes within these boundaries is that of intellectual property which includes copyrightable material, potentially patent able inventions, trade secrets, formulas, processes, composition, compounds, plans, blueprints etc. It may also include a company’s customer list, prospective customers, business relationship and affairs etc., which is collectively known as proprietor’s information. Any leakage such information (especially trade secrets) can do an irreparable damage to a company.

In an employer-employee relationship, a non-disclosure agreement usually comes attached with a non-compete agreement, by virtue of which, the employee cannot disclose the information not only during the period of employment, but also for a certain period after the termination of such employment.

Uses of a Non-Disclosure Agreement

A non-disclosure agreement is very useful to multinational corporations, but it is equally useful to small companies, partnerships, individuals and most importantly to start-ups, since all of them, at one point of time or another, has to deal with outsiders and entrust confidential information to them in the course of their businesses.

A start-up can be anything; it can be an idea, a business model, or a patentable invention and so on. A start-up cannot keep these ideas locked in, it has to disclose them to the investor who may be showing the promise to eventually turn the idea into a success. So to a start-up, these agreements come very handy; it allows them to share the information with people whose input it needs, for example in case of a patent able invention, the inventor may like to have opinion of an expert in that field, in case of a business idea, the person coming up with such as idea may need a lawyer to register the business organization, so having a non-disclosure agreement signed with those outsiders ensures that the information is not leaked to someone or is not used for another benefit jeopardizing the interests of the primary party (owner of the information).

A non-disclosure agreement may also be very useful in industries like film and television etc. So, if you are from any such industry where a lot of intellectual creation takes place, you may be frequently required and you will frequently require others to sign a NDA. Also, one of the prominent recent industries, wherein the idea of NDA has recently been gaining popularity, is the fashion industry where it may now require attendees to stay mum for certain period or till the launch of the collection. So an NDA may be the best possible tool to safeguard information you don’t want many people to know.

Exceptions

An NDA ensures that your information stays safe and is not leaked, but there may be some exceptions to this surety, For example, a person, who is under an obligation to keep the information a secret, may be required by a court to disclose it – now when such a condition arises, the lawful order of the court will of course prevail over the obligations imposed by the NDA. Also, if the person is already in possession of any such information, or obtains the information from another source, he may not be bound by NDA not to disclose such information to any other party. Moreover, a matter of policy and national security will over-ride the NDA.

Does a Non-Disclosure Agreement need Registration and/or Stamping?

A legal instrument, document or contract has value because it is capable of being enforced in a court of law. In order to enforce the contract, it will need to be presented in court to prove the fact that you (and the party you are enforcing it against) had entered into it legally, and to prove the validity of the terms of the contract. Therefore, in order to present it before court, you should keep certain procedural formalities in mind:

Stamping

Stamping is a necessary procedural formality, without which your document will not under regular circumstances be accepted in Court. The rate for stamp duty on a non-disclosure agreement will vary from state to state, but it should generally range from Rs. 20 to Rs. 100 in most Indian states.

Registration

A non-disclosure agreement can be registered as per the Registration Act, 1908 by approaching the Office of the Sub-Registrar of your district or city. The charges for the same and detailed rules for registration vary from state to state. Registration helps a long way in proving the veracity of the contents of a particular document.

Notarization

Usually, parties may choose to get an agreement notarized. A notary’s function is that of a witness; a notarization signifies that the notary has personally witnessed the parties putting their signature to the contract. In the absence of a witness, a party could invent many excuses to argue that he is not bound by the terms of the contract. For example, he could argue that he never signed the contract, or that the signature is not his, or that his signature is forged by someone else. While in India, there is no legal requirement to use a notary for agreements, a notarization will be helpful in preventing parties from denying execution (signing) of the contract by them.

The costs for notarization vary from city to city. For example, a leave and license agreement with Rs. 10,000 to 15,000 per month as rent costs around Rs. 200 in Kolkota.

Registration and notarization are not legally necessary, but are always advisable, as it makes it easier for you to prove your case.

Non Disclosure Agreement Format Clauses:

Parties to the contract: There are two types of non-disclosure agreements, namely-

(a) Unilateral or one-way agreement– Under this agreement, only one party has the information that has to be shared with the other party before the contract is signed. The party having the information is called disclosing party and the other party is called the receiving party.

(b) Mutual or two-way agreement– Under this agreement, both the parties have the information which they share with each other.

Confidential Information: The agreement must state what information needs to be protected or kept confidential.

Disclosure of Confidentiality: This clause specifies the purpose for which such information can be used. Also, it may specify the name of such persons with whom confidential information can be shared.

Term of the contract: The agreement should specify the date of the agreement and the duration for which the contract exists. It may provide clauses for whether disclosure rules and obligation will apply after the expiry of the contract or not.

Remedies: The agreement must provide for remedies to be adopted in case either of the party breaches the contract.