Types of non disclosure agreement
NDAs are one of the most common types of commercial contract. They are also one of the most straightforward. That said, there are a few distinctions to be borne in mind. First, as well as short-form documents (like the free NDA available here), there are more detailed documents that cover collateral matters, such as IPR, publicity restrictions and personal data processing. Second, we need to distinguish unilateral from mutual NDAs. The latter protect the confidential information of both parties. Third, we can distinguish general NDAs from those designed for very particular circumstances. Some examples of the latter are:
- information relating to a business venture;
- an invention;
- a media concept; and
- a design/idea for a website.
Alternative NDA templates
Links to our full range of NDA templates are set out in the table below. On website-contracts.co.uk you can download Word document templates for editing on your computer. With Docular, you can edit the templates online, which saves time and and makes editing fun (almost).
| Title | Description | Get the document on… | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short-form unilateral NDA | These are general NDAs that protect the information of only one party |  |
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| Long-form unilateral NDA | Extended one-way NDAs which include special publicity and data protection clauses. | |
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| Short-form mutual NDA | NDAs protecting the information of both parties | |
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| Long-form mutual NDA | Extended versions of our general two-way NDAs. | |
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| Business venture NDA | A specialist mutual NDA, designed for use by two parties entering into a business venture. | |
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| Invention NDA | A one-way NDA under which details of an invention may be disclosed. | |
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| Media concept NDA | Another one-way NDA, this time for media concept disclosure. | |
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| Web design NDA | Yet another one-way NDA, for disclosing web application concepts to web designers to get quotes. | |
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What are the benefits of an NDA? & what to include in NDA?
The usefulness and contents of an NDA will in practice depend upon the circumstances in which it is used. Do you have any particular circumstances in mind?
Would it be appropriate to include a restrictive covenant clause to prohibit the recipient from using information / knowledge gained during their relationship with the disclosor to entice employees away from the disclosor’s business or to ‘poach’ customers and if so, where would this sit in the template?
Sorry, but I can’t provide this kind of drafting help here – If I tried to answer I’d be very likely to mislead you as I don’t have all the necessary info.
I live in NZ and wish to do a provisional worldwide NDA.
Doing a NDA, couldn’t they just go tell somebody else your idea?
How would you know?
Often, it’s very difficult to know if confidential information has been disclosed. If you can avoid itl, you shouldn’t rely upon an NDA as the only method of protecting a valuable idea.
Do you have a template for an NDA between two parties, one in UK and one in US?
I don’t have a document that is designed to take account of the laws of both the US and UK – however such dual law documents are quite rare and usually US and UK parties sign NDAs governed by the law of one or other jurisdiction (English law or the law of an identified US state). However, the courts of both jurisdictions may be granted the right to adjudicate disputes. In any particular case, this approach could cause problems, eg because a particular rule of law in one jurisdiction impacts upon the enforceability of the provisions of the NDA, even thought it may be expressed to be governed by the law of the other jurisdiction. Whether this is a real issue will depend upon the circumstances.
Thank you! I really appreciate this help!
Sorry if this is obvious or not; these things aren’t my strong point unfortunately.
Is it fine to print the NDA out as is and use it for a meeting as is?
I saw that if I used it on a website I’d have to link it but I am just looking for an NDA to protect my idea’s for upcoming meetings. I gather it is OK to use it for protection as is?
Thanks a lot!
Dan
Yes, that’s fine.
Hi there,
Are we allowed to use this template or give it to friends to help them secure start for their business contracts and etc?
Regards,
Niraj
You are welcome to use the template yourself in accordance with the licensing terms.
Under those licensing terms, you should not redistribute the template, but you can of course direct your friends to this website.
Hi! Thank you for the templates. May I know if we can edit and add some parts here? But will still remain the credit? Thank you for the answer.
Our licensing terms permit the documents to be edited – indeed they need to be edited to some degree before use. You do however need to retain the credit.
Easy to read and use also understandable.
Thanks for the clear and easy to read template
Thanks – this is very useful.
Thank You so much for allowing a downloadable and printable document. I have no problem sharing your link as MOST, if not all other “free” websites want you to fill in each section as you go, review ithe contract and then allow you to print. I’m at a stage where I prefer to review what details are necessary and covered in this type of contract and do more research prior to actually filling in ANY information, especially over the internet. I find your willingness to offer a blank agreeement (even with your company info- you should put a watermark on it as well) freely, to the public, for business purposes of protection for an idea or product is beyond professional. I consider you one of the higher ranking professional companies and would be proud to do business with you at any time. Seems Most ethical when these days, that is a rare commodity. Thank you again for keeping me at ease with not having to “DISCLOSE” my information, technology, indea, invention, prior to having any written disclosure form created. Thank you. Veronica Fischer.
Is this really free?
Yes, this NDA is free to use, providing you retain the text in the document that attributes the source of the document to us. You can get access to a version of the NDA that omits that text, here:
https://www.website-contracts.co.uk/non-disclosure-agreement-unilateral.html
Also, if you purchase a that document, you can of course remove the credit from a version of this free documnet that you have previously adapted.
I expect that this wiil help me to better understand the form which a NDA should take.