I recently signed one that I kind of wish I hadn't because the work is actually pretty interesting. It's forced me to re-think some strongly held opinions about... some tech thing that, obviously, I can't discuss, as much as I would like to.
But then again, had I not signed the NDA, I wouldn't have known the interesting stuff at all. So I guess I have to take the bad with the good.
I also got some other neat... tech stuff out of the deal, which I also can't discuss.
Sigh...
Rich
ROFLMAO...I'm sitting here laughing while sipping my coffee, because I signed an NDA like that one once and would have said almost identical things.
The product really was "revolutionary" and it actually did "change the world", but it was out-classed by a better idea inside of three years. (Had to do with how multiple microphones in a room could be used to eliminate wall/window echo, and a pretty nifty way to go about it, not just by phase, but some other nifty techniques, without adding much delay to the resulting output, but cheap ubiquitous DSPs was already in the "pipe" and crushed it completely in three years. Guy had a great idea, though... he just didn't know the freight train of DSP chipset cheapness was about to flatten him. Didn't matter, he had plenty of other income and products. What he needed me for was testing... and it was fun to test.)
Sounds a bit like someone gave you an over-reach. The basis of an NDA is twofold:
1- You won't tell anyone my secret
2- You won't try to use what you learned to beat me to market
I have never EVER seen an NDA that was that simple after the lawyers got done with it.
That is the issue I have with them. There is no benefit to me or my employer. Too often what someone claims to be their intellectual property or innovation is common practice. I can't get tangled up in a legal dispute that does nothing but keep my company from using standard industry practice.
I've avoided three or four NDAs from "excited entrepreneurs" by simply saying "I can't sign that until I know you're not doing something people are already doing in this industry, because it can cause me trouble. Maybe I already work on something similar, and signing that would put me in a bad place with other employers. Describe some basics and hold back whatever you think the "secret" is, and I'll see if I can guess what you're doing."
I guessed their "idea" on all but the one up top there that I mentioned to Rich. And the entrepreneur got valuable info: "This company X, already makes one of those, and it's way ahead of where you're at...", etc. Other than the guy above, all were mildly disappointed but inventor/entrepreneurs are never slowed down much for long.
I've also avoided signing non-compete contracts with nearly every employer, or black-lining the hell out of the things. Sure, they're essentially unenforceable in this State, to start with, but I still have to pay a lawyer and go to court if you simply DISAGREE that they're unenforceable, and your lawyers are on retainer, and mine isn't, so I'm at a fiscal disadvantage right at the beginning of the disagreement.
It usually comes down to two stipulations that have to be met:
1. Frankly, either you want me here, or you don't. Want to just throw this thing away? I don't really feel like starting the relationship feeling like you distrust me.
2. I will not sign this if it says my personal time is not my own, nor any work I do on my personal time. In fact, I can't. I have projects on-going with numerous organizations as a volunteer, and those projects pre-date YOU. They win.
