Q: What type of information is protected under Non Disclosure Agreement ?

Ans: A non-disclosure agreement might protect information that isn’t in the public domain or isn’t widely recognised. 

The term “public domain” refers to creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws. The public owns these works, not an individual author or artist. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining permission, but no one can ever own it.

It can protect any type of private business information, such as a new restaurant concept, a new business endeavour, or any other type of confidential business information that could be valuable to others if disclosed.

A non-disclosure agreement would ideally define the parameters under which material should not be shared. The information included within these bounds is intellectual property, which includes copyrighted content, possibly patentable innovations, trade secrets, formulas, techniques, compositions, compounds, plans, and blueprints, among other things. It could also comprise a company’s customer list, prospective consumers, business relationships and affairs, and so on, all of which are referred to as proprietor’s information. A company’s reputation can be irreparably damaged if such information (especially trade secrets) is leaked.

In an employer-employee relationship, a non-disclosure agreement is generally accompanied by a non-compete agreement, under which the employee is prohibited from disclosing the information not only during the employment period but also for a specific period after the job ends.