A confidentiality agreement is a legally binding document used to protect confidential information that is disclosed during a variety of transactions.
Essentially, once signed, it indicates an agreement between all involved parties to not disclose the information to any third parties. The contents must remain secret.
These agreements may also be called a non-disclosure agreement or NDA.
An NDA may be used to protect information disclosed during negotiations for:
An NDA creates the legal framework needed to protect valuable information and ideas from being shared with or stolen by competitors or third parties.
Some types of intellectual property such as patents and registered designs require that the invention or design must be new (or novel) at the time that the application is filed. If you make a public disclosure of your invention before you file your patent or design application, you can destroy the novelty of your invention or design. If you disclose your invention or design to third parties under an NDA before you file your patent or design application, this is not regarded as a public disclosure, and the invention or design remains novel. An example of when this would apply is if you invite a third-party specialist into your business to assist with a project that requires sharing of IP, or if you are looking for a manufacturer to develop your product.
However, an NDA is not adequate protection for IP generally. Ideally you should ensure that you have a filing date for your patent or design application before disclosing your invention to others. An NDA is also not a satisfactory basis for a relationship between two parties. An NDA is typically used for two parties to establish if they want to do business with each other at all.
If they don’t, they agree to keep any information received from the disclosing party confidential.
If they do, they should move onto a formal agreement that properly governs that type of relationship (e.g. software development agreement, product manufacturing and distribution agreement, etc.). An NDA will not offer widespread protection from infringement as they can easily be circumvented.
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I would like to express my thanks to Barry and his team at IP Guardian in Sydney for their assistance with our recent Trademark application. Barry was highly professional, readily available throughout the process and clearly communicated expectations. Barry even helped us refine our application so that we had a greater chance of success which was very much appreciated to avoid extra costs. I would highly recommend Ip Guardian for all your Trademark and Intellectual Property needs.
Barry, last week, you and your professional team, made my year (or probably my next 21 years). So thank you so much for your executive, calm yet very effective actions under extream pressure. Elias Hajjar, Director, TROLLEYON PTY LTD
Informative, understood the business, what it needed and answered questions in a friendly and approachable manner. Easy decision to continue working with IPGuardian for future trademarking
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The team at IP Guardian have made the process extremely straight forward and easy for us to understand exactly what was required. I will highly recommend to our clients who need help with IP.
I have dealt with Barry over the years, his advice and experience has helped me greatly. Looking for to working with him and his team again. Maher.
IP Guardian helps protect words, symbols, letters, numbers, names, signatures, phrases, sounds, shapes and smells. Yes, I said smells.
We've had the pleasure to work closely with Barry for many years. He has been exceptional to deal with and has a keen focus in providing a commercial led IP "go to market" strategy for start-ups and well known brands. Makes it easy and always advises on different ways to navigate through the IP process.
Barry Meskin @ IP Guardian is an experienced and extremely knowledgeable expert in the domain of intellectual property, patents and trademarks. In addition he has been extremely responsive and very professional in all our dealings. I wholeheartedly recommend Barry's services to any business or anyone seeking advice in this area - great quality and great value.
