Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) Resources?

Anyone have a good example of a Non-Disclosure Agreement that I can use (or a good site to go to)?

I've got a project that I want to hand over to a graphic designer to do their part. I want an NDA to cover my butt so that the designer doesn't keep a copy and distribute it or whatever. Just a CYA thing.

Any resources out there?

Any thoughts on the good or bad of an NDA?

Thanks.

---John Holmes...

errr. i *hate* nda's. my girlfriend signed one and then her boss informed her that her opensource work was now property of the company!

her response was, i thought, quite elegant: "fine. i'll go home and make a child porn site. you can own that too."

of course they didn't back down until lawyers were called in.

Sounds like the company had a valid argument to me...

Any work I do that's used by the Army, even if it's 100% on my own time and on my own computer, is owned by them.

---John Holmes...

I wonder: Why does she call her work "open source"? Her answer was not elegant, but arrogant.

I totally agree with Sepodati here. If she signed it, she must have read it. If not, it´s her own fault. No need to cry or bitch at them. She ****ed it up, not them.

frymaster, you "hate NDAs"? LOL... "Welcome to the real world!"

1. i work for a company with no nda.
2. the project in question was initiated before she started working at that company. it was developed on her own time using her own hardware and software.
3. your company pays you to either:
a) build a specific project
b) work by the hour
if it's not that specific project or outside those hours it's yours.

" If she signed it, she must have read it"

yes. and the lawyers read it too and told the company they were wrong. here's a hint for you: just because it's in a contract doesn't mean it's legal and it doesn't mean you have to abide by it. you can sign a contract agreeing that your boss can kill you if you miss a deadline, but that won't get them off a murder 1 charge.

you want the real world? managers will lie to you if it fattens their pocket. they will take your weekends if they think they can get away with it. they will intimidate you into giving them more than they pay you for if they believe you are a pushover.

the fault here is plainly on the side of the employer. they decided it would be a good idea to design an illegal contract and then coerce their employees (the contract was presented to people who had already been working there for months) with threat of termination into signing it. they got caught. they are out of business. they ****ed it up.

so, when you shop fr yr nda to "protect" yourself. make sure you get it read over... because your employees will.

as for the army: c'mon, this is an organization where if you're late for work they can put you in jail. maybe you need a new boss.

Okay, that was your first story. It's completely different (i.e. no details) compared to your second story. Next time give the actual story instead of a random blurb and maybe we'll agree with you.

So, if she did it completely on her own time and did not use it in any product she created for the company, then yeah, I would agree that it's hers.

---John Holmes...

I only attacked your generalization. NDAs are absolutely necessary when sharing project information with externals. With the infos you told now, the whole situation is different though. Sounds like the NDA was no NDA, but simply theft or something.

But now your first post sounds like this: "I hate NDAs because a paper that said "NDA" on top was used to try to **** my gf over" - In my eyes that is as hillarious as "I hate the sun because it burned my skin"...So do I. But non-disclosure is part of law too, even if you don´t have it in your contract. Or is this so much different in the US? We have NDAs with out customers and this makes parts of my work "company secrets". Sharing them would not only cost my job...You did not tell that before...Of course. But I am asking: "Why did she sign it and bitch later?" Did she wait for the payment first? She would have had much less trouble going to a lawyer straight.
Of course they do. It´s part of their job to try to get the most out of their ressources. But what I refered to was meant more like "If you are giving your project infos away to a supplier, you´d better make them sign a NDA first. They´ll **** you over in no time if you let them.
That´s a different situation. You did not tell that she was FIRST working on the project and had to sign THEN, nor that she was forced to sign the contract or that the contract was illegal.If you get it read over, it makes only sense to do that with a lawyer. But there is pre-made NDAs without legal problems. I think this is what Sepodati is looking for.

... no comment ...

To Sepodati: Sorry... Maybe you want to delete the thread and start over with a clean one without our dumb comments...

[edit]
stripped some empty lines and parts of the quotes
[/edit]

Well, there's always hope that someone will post an example sooner or later. Maybe this will post will pop up on a "related thread" one day!

---John Holmes...

That sounds more like an employment agreement than an NDA. Most companies have EAs that state that any work you do while at that company (even if on your own time and with your own resources) is the property of that company. It is your responsibility to get exceptions added in to the agreement if they are necessary. Heck, at a lot of companies working on something outside of your normal work can be considered as a conflict of interest and could be grounds for dismissal.

<quote>If you get it read over, it makes only sense to do that with a lawyer. But there is pre-made NDAs without legal problems. I think this is what Sepodati is looking for. </quote>

doubtless... but the law changes from state to state in the us. and "without legal problems" is a tough nut. for some it means "airtight" for others it means "fightable". also remember that there are probably laws on non disclosure in yr country a/o state (as M.Hirsch pointed out). consider that they may be sufficient. and obviate the need for a contract.

if i could say one thing to SepodatiCreations (and i can, this being a bbs and all) it would be: remember that yr nda is a *shield* not a sword.

If I can suggest...

You will really want to rely on a good source for legal documents.
Here is a link that I have purchased agreements on before on they
stand by their work. Most single documents are around $40 outright
but you can buy packages for under $200

http://store.yahoo.com/jurifaxstore/index.html

http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cach...&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

It's even a branch of the military for yah. I have no clue though what really constitutes a "good" NDA.. IANAL...