Non Disclosure Agreement | Invention Disclosure
Non Disclosure Agreement
A Non-Disclosure Agreement (also known as a NDA or a Confidentiality Agreement) is used when someone with an unpatented idea shows it to another party, and wants that party to maintain as confidential any information.
CONFIDENTIAL DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT dated __________________, 20___ , by and between ABC Company, a (your state) Corporation (“ABC Company”) and ____________(“Recipient”).
WHEREAS, ABC Company and Recipient, for their mutual benefit and pursuant to a working relationship which has been or may be established, anticipate that ABC Company may disclose or deliver to a working relationship which has been or may be established, anticipate that ABC Company may disclose or deliver to Recipient documents, components, parts, information, drawings, data, sketches, plans programs, specifications, techniques, processes, software, inventions and other materials, both written and oral, of a secret, confidential or proprietary nature, including without limitation any and all information relating to marketing, finance, forecasts, invention, research, design or development of information system and any supportive or incidental subsystems, and any and all subject matter claimed in or disclosed by any patent application prepared or filed by or behalf of by ABC Company, in any jurisdiction, and any amendments or supplements thereto (collectively, “Proprietary Information”); and
WHEREAS, ABC Company desires to assure that the confidentiality of any Proprietary Information is maintained;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing premises, and the mutual convenants contained herein, ABC Company and Recipient hereby agree as follows:
1. For a period of sixty (60) months from the date hereof, Recipient shall hold in trust and confidence, and not disclose to others or use for Recipient's own benefit or for the benefit of another, any Proprietary Information which is disclosed to Recipient by ABC Company at any time between the date hereof and twelve (12) months thereafter. Recipient shall disclose Proprietary Information received under this Agreement to person within its organization only if such persons (i) have a need to know and (ii) are bound in writing to protect the confidentiality of such Proprietary Information. This paragraph 1 shall survive and continue after any expiration or termination of this Agreement and shall bind Recipient, its employees, agents, representatives, successors, heirs and assigns.
2. The undertakings and obligations of Recipient under this Agreement shall not apply to any Proprietary Information which: (a) is described in an issued patent anywhere in the world, is disclosed in a printed publication available to the public, or is otherwise in the public domain through no action or fault of Recipient; (b) is generally disclosed to third parties by ABC Company without restriction on such third parties, or is approved for release by written authorization of ABC Company; (c) if not designated “confidential” at the time of first disclosure hereunder, or is not later designated in writing by ABC Company within thirty (30) days from disclosure to Recipient to be of a secret, confidential or proprietary nature; or (d) is shown to ABC Company by Recipient, within ten (10) days from disclosure, by underlying documentation to have been known by Recipient before receipt from ABC Company and/or to have been developed by Recipient completely independent of any disclosure by ABC Company.
3. Title to all property received by Recipient from ABC Company, including all Proprietary Information, shall remain at all times the sole property of ABC Company, and this Agreement shall not be construed to grant to Recipient any patents, licenses or similar rights to such property and Proprietary Information disclosed to Recipient hereunder.
4. Recipient shall, upon request of ABC Company, return to ABC Company all documents, drawings and other tangible materials, including all Proprietary Information and all manifestation thereof, delivered to Recipient, and all copies and reproductions thereof.
5. The parties further agree to the following terms and conditions:
i. Any breach by Recipient of any of Recipient's obligations under this Agreement will result in irreparable inquiry to ABC Company for which damages and other legal remedies will be inadequate. In seeking enforcement of any of these obligations, ABC Company will be entitled (in addition to other remedies) to preliminary and permanent injunctive and other equitable relief to prevent, discontinue and/or restrain the breach of this Agreement.
ii. If any provision of this Agreement is invalid or unenforceable, then such provision shall be construed and limited to the extent necessary, or severed if necessary, in order to eliminate such invalidity or unenforceability, and the other provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby.
iii. In any dispute over whether information or matter is Proprietary Information hereunder, it shall be the burden of Recipient to show both that such contested information or matter is not Proprietary Information within the meaning of this Agreement, and that it does not constitute a trade secret under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act or successor or similar law in effect in the State of (your state).
iv. No delay or omission by either party in exercising any rights under this Agreement will operate as a waiver of that or any other right. A waiver or consent given by either party on any one occasion is effective only in that instance and will not be construed as a bar to or waiver of any right on any other occasion.
v. This Agreement shall be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.
vi. This Agreement is governed by and will be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of (your state), and the courts of (your state) shall be the exclusive forum.
vii. This Agreement is in addition to any prior written agreement between ABC Company and Recipient relating to the subject matter of this agreement; in the event of any disparity or conflict between the provision of such agreements, the provision which is more protective of Proprietary Information shall control. This Agreement may not be modified, in whole or in part, except by an agreement in writing signed by ABC Company and Recipient.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first above written.
ABC Company
By: ______________________
Signature
______________________
Printed Name
______________________
Title
RECIPIENT
By: ______________________
Signature
______________________
Printed Name
Invention Disclosure
TO BE COMPLETED BY THE INVENTOR(S)
1. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
List those persons contributing to: (a) the initial idea; and (b) the further development of the idea, giving their name, citizenship, and home addresses. If possible, identify the general contribution of each person.
Name Surname Address Citizenship Tel./fax/e-mail
1.
2.
3.
4.
Please indicate the name of the inventors in the same order as in the patent application.
State the earliest date when the invention was first thought of by you.
Date:
Location:
Circumstances:
2. STATE OF THE ART
List pertinent published information (e.g. patents (patent number and country), publications, literature references, journals, books, papers published at symposiums or technical conferences, etc.) and commercial practice in this field (e.g. prior device(s), compound(s), composition(s), disclosed, sold or offered for sale, etc.), known to the Inventors (further to a preliminary search if necessary), with specification of the date of publication and the editor for all documents, except for patents.
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IMPORTANT: Some countries, in particular the USA, require the exhaustive list of publications known by the inventors. Failure to advise the US PTO (US Patent and Trademark Office) of such prior art may invalidate a subsequently issued patent. This obligation is continuous. Prior art believed to be relevant should immediately be brought to the attention of your Patent Attorney.
3. POSSIBLE DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Some countries (USA, Japan) offer the possibility to still get a valid patent although there was a public disclosure of the invention. However, the filing formalities of the patent application should be performed before expiry of the grace period that is comprised between six and twelve months.
Please specify possible disclosures made by yourself or by third parties.
Disclosed by ........................................................................................................................................
Circumstances (place, date): ..............................................................................................................
Disclosed by ........................................................................................................................................
Circumstances (place, date): ..............................................................................................................
4. TECHNICAL FIELD
Provide a short statement of the technical field of the subject-matter in the area of the invention (no more than 2-3 sentences are required here).
The technical field of the subject-matter encompasses:
a) a process consisting of (list the procedural steps while specifying what you consider to be novel)
b) a product or material composition (explain wherein its novelty consists)
c) a device distinguished in that ......................
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5. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The background section sets the context of the invention and outlines the problems which the invention is trying to solve. Here, the available art is summarised and distinguished thereby emphasising the novelty of the invention.
Describe the state of the prior art including the shortcomings or problems therein, and how the disclosed invention differs from or improves the prior art (including its advantages or what it accomplishes).
List any related inventions, identifying each and giving their relationship to this invention.
It is known according to the state of the art that ..................................................................................
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However, this state of the art does not solve the problem of ..............................................................
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6. AIMS OF THE INVENTION
State the objects and purposes of the invention.
The purpose of the invention is to develop
Describe how these objects and purposes are achieved, i.e., the development, including the structure(s), and or process(es) of the invention.
Therefore, the present invention makes use of ...................................................................................
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7. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The disclosure or description of the invention must provide all information necessary to practice the invention. Each and every compound and step used in practising the invention should be fully detailed before filing of the patent application. An expert in this field should be able to reproduce the invention on the basis of the description.
Describe, as fully as possible, your experimental procedures and results, including, if available, all sequential steps from 'how to make' the invention through 'how to use' the invention. Examples should also be included if available. Please refer to figures and drawings. Please provide numbered values (in their corresponding unity of value) of the obtained results.
Describe the embodiment of new features of this invention and any new results obtained by the practice thereof.
The new features embodied in this invention are as follows:
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