【安和律师事务所】知识产权 (IP) 中保密协议 (NDA)

HOLawyers

知识产权 (IP) 中保密协议 (NDA)：何时需要及其限制

保密协议是指旨在防止将机密材料共享给非协议方的人或组织的法律合同（澳大利亚知识产权局，无日期）。保密协议不仅限于工作场所；在法庭外的和解中，双方可以同意不让关于法律纠纷的敏感信息公之于众。然而，这文章旨在讨论工作场所中的保密协议；法律合同及其在知识产权（IP）权利中的使用。

为何用 NDA?

首先，保密协议可以持续有效直到双方同意的时间, 即使双方同意它们将永远受法律约束。如果任何一方违反了保密协议，违约方有责任向另一方支付赔偿损失。一些可以写入保密协议中的违约方可能遭受的行为包括赔偿损失、被法院下达命令，甚至被终止雇佣。


这些严重的后果劝阻所有各方违反协议, 提供了机密材料不会被泄露的安全保障。它们还确保了未违约方如果其保密协议遭到违反，可以寻求正当的法律救济。


其次，保密协议的全面性使其成为工作场所合同的有用工具。保密协议可用于保密各种信息。在知识产权的情况下，一些可能受保密协议保护的知识产权包括：想法、发明、配方、烹饪食谱以及商业或组织方法。拥有保密协议向所有涉及方明确了谁是当事方及其各自的角色、哪些具体信息应保密，以及如果他们违反保密协议将承担的法律责任。


最后，保密协议的覆盖范围超出了知识产权，还扩展到了商业秘密的保密保护。即使在将专利规格公之于众的同时，它也可以适用于保持某些信息的秘密。在某些情况下，鉴于产品的短暂生命周期，以知识产权（IP）形式的专利权可能并不理想。在这类情况下，覆盖被分类为商业秘密的信息的保密协议将非常重要。

何时制定保密协议？

保密协议通常在分享或披露机密或个人信息之前由各方制定。这是为了防止雇主或组织的分类信息被外部人员分享。通常，每当您与新的商业伙伴、员工和承包商、工业和平面设计师、制造商、财务顾问、市场营销和公关公司以及投资者合作时，都应制定保密协议。

保密协议的限制

一旦合同签订了保密协议，该协议的适用期限就与保密协议有效期相同。然而，在澳大利亚的情况下，虽然保密协议的条款和条件只要有效就适用，但它只能在协议中指定的州/国家强制执行。因此，对违约方的法律行动必须在保密协议指定的州的法院进行。


另一个需要注意的问题是，保密协议仅涵盖一方在与另一方签订合同期间获知的约定机密信息。许多组织和雇主起草的保密协议可能会在雇员和承包商离职后持续几年。然而，虽然保密协议将适用于前雇员直到保密协议中规定的时间期限结束，但雇员在终止雇佣关系后获悉的机密信息不受保密协议的法律保护。






保密协议是重要的工作场所合同，需要详细而深思熟虑的规格和条款。在H&O律师事务所，我们的律师拥有法律专业知识，能帮助您起草能够适当保护您、您的组织和您的员工的保密协议。

如果您对家庭法有任何疑问，请随时与我们联系。 您可以发送电子邮件至 [email protected] 或致电 (08) 8410 9069 安排预约/在线面试。
请注意，本文不构成法律建议，
H & O Lawyers 不会对您根据本文采取的任何行动承担法律责任。
Adelaide office
Tf3/30 Field Street Adelaide SA 5000
Sydney office (By appointment only)
Level 9/25 Bligh Street, Sydney 2000

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) for Intellectual Property (IP) Reasons: When is it Needed and its Limitations

Non-Disclosure Agreements refer to legal contracts that aim to prevent confidential material from being shared with people or organisations that are not party to the agreement (IP Australia, N.D.). Non-Disclosure Agreements are not unique to the workplace; a non-disclosure agreement can be made in a settlement out of court where both parties agree not to let sensitive information regarding a legal dispute be released to the public. Nevertheless, this article aims to address Non-Disclosure Agreements in a workplace setting; the legal contract, and its use in intellectual property (IP) rights.

Why the NDA?

Firstly, an NDA can be kept for as long as the parties have agreed upon – even if both parties agree that they would be legally bound forever. If either party breaks the NDA, the offending party is liable to pay the other damages. Some of the actions suffered by offending parties that can be written into an NDA include recompensing damages for loss, being served a court order, and even having one’s employment terminated.


These heavy consequences provide all parties with the security that confidential material will not be secreted. They also ensure that non-offending parties who have had their NDA contract violated can seek rightful legal recourse.


Second, the comprehensiveness of NDAs makes them useful as a workplace contract. An NDA can be used to keep various kinds of information confidential. In the case of Intellectual Property, some of the IP that could be covered by an NDA include: Ideas, inventions, formulas, cooking recipes, and business or organisational methods. Having an NDA communicates to all parties involved who the parties are and their respective roles, the specific information that should be kept confidential, and the legal actions that they are liable to if they break the NDA.


Third, NDAs cover beyond IP rights, extending secrecy protection coverage to trade secrets. It can apply to keeping certain information secret, even while releasing patent specification to the public. In some cases, patent rights in the form of (IP) may not be ideal given a product’s short lifespan. An NDA that covers information classified as trade secrets would be important in such cases.

When to Make an NDA?

NDAs are typically made between parties before sharing or disclosing confidential or personal information. This is to prevent classified information of employers or organisations from being shared with external parties. In general, NDAs should be made whenever you work with new business partners, employees and contractors, industrial and graphic designers, manufacturers, financial advisors, marketing and public relations firms, and investors.

Limitations to an NDA

Once an NDA has been drafted, the agreement applies for as long as the NDA holds. However, in the case of Australia, while the terms and conditions of an NDA apply as long as it holds, it is only enforceable in the state/s or country/countries that were specified in the agreement. As such, legal actions against the offending party will have to be done in the Courts of Law in the state/s specified by the NDA.


Another matter of note is that NDAs cover only the agreed upon confidential information learnt by a party while they are in contract with the other party. Many organisations and employers draft NDAs that may last a few years post-employment, with contractors and employees. However, while the NDAs will apply to former employees until the time period stipulated in the NDA is over, confidential information learnt by the employee after the termination of employment is not legally covered by the NDA.


NDAs are important workplace contracts that require detailed and thoughtful specifications and clauses. At H&O Lawyers, our lawyers possess the legal expertise to help you draft NDA agreements that will properly protect you, your organisation, and your employees.


如果您对家庭法有任何疑问，请随时与我们联系。 您可以发送电子邮件至 [email protected] 或致电 (08) 8410 9069 安排预约/在线面试。
请注意，本文不构成法律建议，
H & O Lawyers 不会对您根据本文采取的任何行动承担法律责任。
Adelaide office
Tf3/30 Field Street Adelaide SA 5000
Sydney office (By appointment only)
Level 9/25 Bligh Street, Sydney 2000