Non Disclosure Agreement Template: Fill & Download for Free

A few years ago I came up with a concept that I showed a friend and a very high end manufacturer.. Prior to doing that I had a non circ agreement written up, ironically the lawyer of the manufacturer wanted the wording even stronger so he wrote up one of the most iron clad non circs I've seen (a non compete non circumvent non disclosure agreement is one that you sign prior to giving any information about any business idea) we signed it and I want back to flying around analyzing businesses. One night I got a call in my hotel. The manufacturer called me to tell me that I was out and they were producing it. It was a kind of a " courtesy call". The smile and say *! you call. I let them drone on about how they were going to distribute world wide but I would not be a part of it. After they had finished their highly condesending speech, I thanked them and said, thanks to that agreement your lawyer wrote up, that you signed, I will be getting an injunction in the morning. Of course you will be paying all my court costs, legal fees and damages. They were shocked. The president of the company asked the lawyer..can he do that? And the lawyer sheepishly said, "yes he can" in a mumbled voice. Again I thanked the lawyer for his great work, It was a conference call. The lawyer apologized, the president apologized but was sputtering. And that ended everything that day. Later I found out they had told my friend a different story before hand that I was ok with everything. Regardless, not one was produced by them, And I still use that non circ today as a template. The lesson learned is prior to sharing any business idea with anyone, get a non circ/ disclosure agreement in place. No matter how friendly. Human nature will diminish their perceived value of you and without that paper you have little or no protection.

It seems the conventional wisdom among the investor world is that an NDA exists to protect an idea or invention from thieves. Do you want to begin your pitch meeting by essentially calling the investors thieves? Or that you don’t know what you’re doing? Didn’t think so.It’s important to remember that a ton of investors are former inventors and entrepreneurs themselves. They’ve been there and done that. They’re cognizant that you’ve worked your a** off to get to this point and aren’t attending the pitch meeting to reap your rewards. The investors are there to fund you not steal from you!You might be thinking - what’s the big deal? After all, I’ll only have to enforce it if an investor actually stole my confidential info. Well - the investors don’t know that. Investors (and their attorneys) try to avoid adding to the growing list of companies they have ties to. The more ties, the more liability. They don’t want to take the chance that you’ll start a frivolous case based on some far-fetched connection to a competitor.If you’re really concerned about disclosing sensitive information at a pitch meeting then give the investors a big taste, but not the whole thing. This is especially true for startups with new or unique technology. You can probably hold off on explaining the inner workings of your product until the second or third meeting. If you ultimately make the decision to use an NDA make sure it’s tailored and attorney-drafted. Investors will be able to tell, and probably reluctant to sign, if you printed some general NDA found on a template provider.If you have any other questions regarding how startups can best utilize NDAs or need one drafted then take a look at LawTrades.

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is an agreement by which parties involved agree not to disclose information as specified in the contract.Many businesses have highly sensitive information about clients, customers, employees, and other stakeholders and NDA binds parties to secrecy through a formal document that requires a signature. The person presenting the NDA is known as the discloser, while the person receiving the NDA is the receiver.Most non-disclosure agreements are perpetual - meaning that they never expire. However, some of these arrangements may include a stated time limit.Here is a practical guide for creating a high-quality non-disclosure agreement, which explains what does it mean for a signee, a basic template, and some best practices on building these agreements: Non-Disclosure Agreement Template & Best PracticesHere is also an NDA template and some of the best practices covered in the guide on how to use this agreement:Recognizing the responsibility - as a discloser of confidential information, you have considerable responsibility.Be pre-emptive - in case of an upcoming meeting that requires to sign an NDA at some point, get the agreement sorted before you commence the session that should be protected.Standardize your agreement - develop a standard non-disclosure agreement template that covers the core operations of your business that need to remain confidential, so you can use the same document again, knowing that you’re covered.