Whether you own a technology company or a manufacturing facility, protecting your company’s secret, competitive advantages is vital to your long-term business success. A Non-disclosure Agreement, also called an NDA or Confidentiality Agreement, is a type of contract that helps protect your trade secrets and specific intricacies of your business. In an NDA, you and another party (often an employee, but sometimes partnering businesses or potential investors) promise to protect secret and confidential information for a specific to unlimited period of time. If someone signs an NDA with you and they decide to go ahead and share the now-protected confidential information without your permission, you can ask the court to stop that person from sharing any more information and may even receive compensation for any damage you incur from the information leak.
Non-Disclosure Agreements Should Be Among the First Signed
Vlodaver Law Offices, LLC has an extensive history and knowledge of drafting NDAs for businesses. Since new businesses often have unique new ideas and formulas, we recommend that an NDA be one of the first documents drafted when initially forming new partnerships, receiving investor support, and creating employee relationships. When the NDA is well-written by a Non-disclosure Agreements attorney who knows the inner workings of your business, your confidential information is protected from unwarranted leaks and disclosures.
Benefits of Non-disclosure Agreements
The single greatest benefit provided by an NDA is increased peace of mind because your valuable information is legally protected. In conjunction, there are derivative benefits:
- An assurance that any value lost from a disclosure will be contractually protected.
- Ease and security of sharing confidential information with partnering organizations as well as receiving confidential information from other businesses, which allows for more and better collaboration.
Oral Vs. Written
While a confidential relationship can be created through an oral agreement or can even be implied, this type of informal arrangement can cause more harm than good. This is because it is difficult to prove the relationship in a court of law. If the agreement is written, then the proof and the protection provided by the agreement are present up front.
Contact a Minnesota Non-Disclosure/Confidentiality Agreements Attorney
If you are considering an NDA for your business, contact us for a free consultation to determine the type of agreement that is most appropriate for your business.
