Confidentiality Agreements, Non-Disclosure Agreements, Secrecy Agreements or by whatever the name, these ubiquitous and seemingly simple agreements/clauses are so common in today’s business environment that many parties to a transaction just routinely sign them without much, if any, actual review, or consideration. A common justification for the cursory handling of these legal agreements is that they are often precursor to a subsequent, more comprehensive agreement that presumably will receive more careful review.
These kinds of agreements are legally binding contracts between parties with requirements to keep certain information confidential and can be used to protect a wide range of confidential information including trade secrets. They are mostly used by start-up’s, individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger corporations trying to establish a new business relationship or partnership with each other, these agreements can be used to maintain confidentiality of valuable disclosures and prevent misuse of such information. Examples of instances where these agreements come into play are:
