When do I need a nondisclosure agreement?

by | Oct 13, 2016 | Business Litigation |

Ohio entrepreneurs and company owners may often need to share sensitive information with people internal and external to their organizations. If you have found yourself in this situation, you may well have wondered how you can protect yourself while doing what is needed to further your business needs. The answer may well lay with a nondisclosure agreement.

As Forbes explains, these contracts are also sometimes referred to as confidentiality agreements. As the name implies, the whole point of these contracts is about protecting secret or sensitive information. You may find that using them with your own employees is useful as many employees have access to information that you would not shared outside the company but is necessary for them to have to do their jobs. The same is true with agencies or other vendors from whom you receive services. This might include details about product roadmaps or marketing strategies, for example.

If you need to seek investors for your company, you may need to share with them your intellectual property so that they fully understand the nature of your invention or business and can make an appropriate investment decision. If you license products to other companies, the same concept applies.

These agreements can give you recourse if people break the promised confidentiality clauses but you will need to be sure that your nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement has been properly created to give you the protection you need. This information is not intended to provide legal advice but is instead meant to give Ohio businesses a good overview of the benefits and nuances of nondisclosure agreements.

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