How to Discuss Confidential Company Documents

Every business has confidential information or processes that give it an advantage over its competitors. These include lists of customers that were created using a lot of effort and expense, special pricing formulas or designs for products, codes or systems, or any other inventions. The law protects businesses by keeping these processes or documents confidential so that competitors don’t have access to them.

There are also a number administrative tasks that need to remain private. This could include detailed office layouts and seating plans, as well as internal procedures. Additionally, there could be sensitive customer information such as sales numbers or confidential information received from vendors. Last but not least you could have personal information about employees, such as tax forms and pay stubs.

A nondisclosure agreement is the best option for protecting confidential documents of a company. However, you must be extremely cautious when drafting the agreement and establishing what is considered confidential. Be precise so that you don’t stop current or former employees from later claiming that they didn’t realize that the information was protected by confidentiality policies.

Be specific about the duration of the nondisclosure agreement. It is not enforceable when the protection period is longer than what is necessary to protect the company’s legitimate or « protectable » interests. Generally speaking, courts examine the facts and decide what is fair. If you www.dataroombusiness.com/protect-distribute-educational-content-via-data-rooms are concerned about a particular employee, think about offering the promise of a raise or promotion to sign the agreement. This may be sufficient to overcome any claim that you didn’t know the document was confidential.