Are your concerned about your business’ trade secrets or intellectual property? If so, you can take advantage of special agreements designed to prohibit the disclosure of companies’ most vital and sensitive information.
The two types of labor forms most commonly used by businesses to protect their confidential information are Non-Disclosure Agreements and Confidentiality Agreements.
Many different types of businesses make Non-Disclosure Agreements part of their initial contract with employees, consultants, freelance workers and others hired to perform work or provide services or products. Banks and financial institutions, inventors, artists, and computer and software businesses are just a few examples of the types of businesses that use Non-Disclosure Agreements.
Non-Disclosure Agreements outline exactly what information is considered confidential, spells out the penalties for disclosure, lists the length of time the agreement is in effect and includes possible exceptions as appropriate.
A Confidentiality Agreement is similar to a Non-Disclosure Agreement, but penalties outlined in this document may be much more severe. Penalties are usually financial in nature, but may also involve court proceedings.
The penalties outlined in a Confidentiality Agreement are often incentive enough to prevent former employees from revealing trade secrets to new employers.
Confidentiality Agreements may be used to prevent game show contestants from revealing information about winners to be announced in future shows. Companies that rely on secret formulas and celebrities concerned about privacy also use Confidentiality Agreements as a form of protection.
You can protect your business from potential disclosure of confidential information to the public or your competitors by using Non-Disclosure or Confidentiality Agreements prepared by attorneys. Although you could pay an attorney directly for these services, a less costly option is to obtain attorney prepared labor forms online.