________________________________ Fact: business folks love NDAs. Before a deal is ever discussed, the vendor or its customer will usually insist on signing a NDA. The typical NDA is usually written to cover any information disclosed between the parties in whatever form. It may cover one party's "confidential" information disclosed to the other (a unilateral NDA) or cover each party's "confidential" information disclosed to the other (a reciprocal NDA). "Confidential" information is usually broadly defined to include anything that isn't public knowledge that was disclosed by each party to other. The NDA may require that the data disclosed be marked CONFIDENTIAL for it to be covered by the NDA. The medical profession has been criticized for prescribing antibiotics needlessly, and lawyers should be criticized for the needless preparation of NDAs. Like the overuse of antibiotics, the overuse of NDAs has the same result: the e...
Attorney Chadwick C. Busk's monthly blog/newsletter for business professionals, including information technology executives, with occasional asides to comment-worthy topics. These posts are intended to inform and entertain; I earn no revenue from them.