What is NDA (Non Disclosure agreement) and its benefits

What is NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)  

A non-disclosure agreement is a legally binding contract that establishes a confidential relationship. The party or parties signing the agreement agree that sensitive information they may obtain will not be made available to any others.
NDAs purpose is to allow its parties to freely share sensitive information without any fear that it will end up in the hands of competitors. 
Non-disclosure agreements are frequently used in the business world, particularly in relation to employees, intellectual property (trade secrets) and partners.
If you are an entrepreneur and looking for investment for your startup then NDA is very important because anyone can steal your business idea and there is no copyright for a business idea

Benefits of NDA

1 NDAs protect sensitive information.
2 In the case of a new product or concept development, a confidentiality agreement can help the inventor keep patent rights
3 Confidentiality agreements and NDAs expressly outline what information is private 
4 When you are entering into a business partnership all the partners can protect their trade secret. 
5 When you are raising funds for your start-up or company your information will be protected.
6 For patent registration  

What to Include in an NDA

•    The names of the parties to the agreement
•    A definition of what constitutes confidential information in this case
•    Any exclusions from confidentiality
•    A statement of the appropriate uses of the information to be revealed
•    The time periods involved
•    Compensation amount 

Jurisdiction Clause in an NDA

It is important to specify courts of which city will have jurisdiction in the case of a dispute. Failing this, you may have to fight expensive court battles in other countries or far off cities.
Registration
A non-disclosure agreement can be registered as per the Registration Act, 1908 by approaching the Office of the Sub-Registrar of your district or city. 
If you don’t want to go for registration then you can write down the agreement on a Stamp paper and get it notary. 

But Lawyers are the Exception

The only time one does not need to worry about signing an NDA is when he/she is talking with a lawyer about their product/ service. But, make sure the advice was for legal advice. 

Types of Non-disclosure Agreements

Unilateral NDA:  It involves two parties, out of which only one party discloses certain information to the other and expects that the information is prevented from any further disclosure.

Bilateral NDA: In this type of NDA, two parties are involved and both parties disclose confidential information to each other with an intention to protect and secure the information from external parties.

Multilateral NDA: In this type of NDA, three or more parties are involved, out of which one of the parties discloses a piece of confidential information and other parties promise that they will not share the information with anyone else. 
 

Watch full Video on NDA in Hindi here -