Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

- Unilateral NDA (one-way NDA): One party discloses information to the other party and requires protection from further disclosure.
- Bilateral NDA (mutual NDA or two-way NDA): Both parties disclose information to each other and intend to protect it from further disclosure.
- Multilateral NDA: Three or more parties anticipate disclosing information and require protection from further disclosure.
- Advantages of a multilateral NDA: Parties review, execute, and implement just one agreement.
- Complex negotiations may be required for a unanimous consensus on a multilateral agreement.

Content of Non-Disclosure Agreements

- NDAs can protect any non-public information.
- The receiving party is obligated to keep the information confidential if directly supplied by the disclosing party.
- Common issues addressed in an NDA include outlining the parties, labeling confidential information, defining what is confidential, types of permissible disclosure, and the governing law and jurisdiction.

Law and Practice by Jurisdiction

Australia:
- Deeds of confidentiality and fidelity are commonly used in Australia.
- These deeds serve the same purpose as NDAs and contain similar provisions.

India:
- NDAs are increasingly popular in India to restrict the loss of R&D knowledge through employee turnover in IT firms.
- Companies from other countries outsourcing work to India often use NDAs.
- NDAs are crucial in the space industry.
- Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements are generally enforceable in India as long as they are reasonable.
- Legal challenges have arisen due to anti-competitive NDAs.

Examples and Controversies

- Examples of NDAs include the Dolby Trademark Agreement, Windows Insider Agreement, and Halo CFP with Microsoft.
- NDAs may be used to compensate whistleblowers or employees who have experienced discrimination or harassment.
- Non-disparagement agreements prevent derogatory statements about the other party.
- NDAs have been subject to legal challenges for being anti-competitive.
- NDAs in the space industry and outsourcing of research and development in biopharma are common.

Specific Jurisdiction Considerations

United Kingdom:
- Back-to-back agreement refers to an NDA with a third party under similar non-disclosure obligations.
- Case law in 2013 confirmed that a confidentiality agreement is interpreted as a contract subject to contractual rules.
- NDAs are used in financial settlements to silence whistleblowing employees.
- The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 allows protected disclosure despite the existence of an NDA.
- In some cases, breaching a confidentiality agreement may result in damages based on commercial profits or releasing the other party from obligations.

United States:
- NDAs are common in the United States, with over one-third of jobs containing them.
- The Speak Out Act, signed into law in 2022, prohibits NDAs in cases of sexual harassment and assault.
- Some states, like California, have specific circumstances regarding NDAs and non-compete clauses.
- California values employee mobility and entrepreneurship over protectionist doctrine.
- The United States Congress passed the Speak Out Act in 2022, which prohibits NDAs in cases of sexual harassment and assault.

Non-disclosure agreement (Wikipedia)

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement (CA), confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement (SA), is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict access to. Doctor–patient confidentiality (physician–patient privilege), attorney–client privilege, priest–penitent privilege and bank–client confidentiality agreements are examples of NDAs, which are often not enshrined in a written contract between the parties.

It is a contract through which the parties agree not to disclose any information covered by the agreement. An NDA creates a confidential relationship between the parties, typically to protect any type of confidential and proprietary information or trade secrets. As such, an NDA protects non-public business information. Like all contracts, they cannot be enforced if the contracted activities are illegal. NDAs are commonly signed when two companies, individuals, or other entities (such as partnerships, societies, etc.) are considering doing business and need to understand the processes used in each other's business for the purpose of evaluating the potential business relationship. NDAs can be "mutual", meaning both parties are restricted in their use of the materials provided, or they can restrict the use of material by a single party. An employee can be required to sign an NDA or NDA-like agreement with an employer, protecting trade secrets. In fact, some employment agreements include a clause restricting employees' use and dissemination of company-owned confidential information. In legal disputes resolved by settlement, the parties often sign a confidentiality agreement relating to the terms of the settlement. Examples of such agreements are The Dolby Trademark Agreement with Dolby Laboratories, the Windows Insider Agreement, and the Halo CFP (Community Feedback Program) with Microsoft.

In some cases, employees who are dismissed following their complaints about unacceptable practices (whistleblowers), or discrimination against and harassment of themselves, may be paid compensation subject to an NDA forbidding them from disclosing the events complained about. Such conditions in an NDA may not be enforceable in law, although they may intimidate the former employee into silence.

A similar concept is expressed in the term "non-disparagement agreement", which prevents one party from stating anything 'derogatory' about the other party.