Confidentiality And Nondisclosure Agreements -- Odd And Different Are Peculiar

At least where I am sitting, for the last month it has rained nondisclosure agreements. On the one hand, these agreements have a certain cookie cutter repetitive quality. On the other hand, there seems to be no end to ingenuity in these things. The result is that something you hope would be straight forward and would not require much (any?) legal intervention, often does. So, here are some thoughts on things to think about when you read an NDA. Needless to say, this list is not comprehensive and – furthermore – I predict that the next one you look at will have something unique about it. (Parenthetically, please feel free to send me samples (redacted to eliminate anything that should not be disclosed – like the identity of the parties) of unusual provisions.) My last comments at the end of the list under the caption "Unusual Provisions" seem like the relevant comments to me. Anyway, here goes: