NDA & CDA FAQ

Anytime you wish to guard the proprietary and confidential nature of a concept or technology. This is particularly the case is you wish to disclose information to persons for purposes of consultation, further development, or a potential business relationship.

A basic NDA/CDA agreement can be found by clicking on this link. FREE NDA/CDA. However, the best procedure is always to consult with an attorney who will draft an agreement specific to your exact needs. If you would like a more specific agreement, do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at The Buche Law Firm, PC to discuss your needs.

If you don’t use a confidentiality agreement, you risk that the receiving party will exploit your idea without compensating you for the disclosure. Without the contract, your legal remedies are severely limited. Also, you may have made a public disclosure that will affect patent rights.

Yes. This is a primary reason for using these agreements. Your rights stemming from a NDA/CDA are contractual in nature. If your agreement sets out that information is confidential, it is, and you can enforce these contract rights, even if the concepts turn out not to be patentable. There are many concepts and ideas that are not patentable, but highly valuable, such as trade secrets.

It never hurts. Particularly if you are considering international patent protection and the patent application has not yet been published. Some companies refuse to sign NDA/CDA agreements, in which case you will minimally want a patent application on file prior to disclosing the information, if that is your decision.

A noncompete is a device that is used to contractually restrict rights to do business in certain territories, or with specific customers. These are used in many states to keep employees and/or company insiders from leaving and using company information to compete against the company. These are often linked with nonsolicitation clauses and are typically found in employment agreements. Depending on your state, Courts may enforce proper contracts containing non-compete and confidentiality clauses, however, they must be carefully crafted to be enforceable and specific in scope.

Call an attorney immediately. Do not make any contact with the other side in writing, on the phone, or by email without consulting an attorney first. Anything you say will be used against you. If you are being threatened or somebody is violating your rights, you should contact the attorneys of The Buche Law Firm, PC Because we are familiar with non-compete and confidentiality agreements in California and Texas, we are comfortable enforcing or defending your business from threats and allegations based on such agreements. In Austin, Texas, The Buche Law Firm, PC has experience with litigating such matters and with obtaining emergency preliminary injunctions to stop Defendants before they get too far in violating your rights.