NDA (WAS: Re: calling for the influence of the linux YDL community on sonnettech support team)

[nathan r. hruby]

On Fri, 18 Apr 2003, Marilyn and Michael Cherry wrote:

> Two small points about NDAs -- although I am not a lawyer so you have to
> take this as opinion for what it is worth.
> 
> 1. Watch out for hidden NDAs. For example, in the Microsoft End User License
> Agreement (EULA) for several of their patches is a hidden NDA. You agree by
> accepting the EULA that you will not discuss benchmarks of their .NET
> Framework.
> 

I was going to mention it, but I though I was getting long winded :)

> 2. While most NDAs have a term or length, for example you will not disclose
> any information before a certain date, or until some point in time, I don't
> think they can be enforced if the information is made public, or becomes
> public by some other source. So if I have an NDA with FOO, and then I read
> in the WSJ or somewhere else the same information, then I am no longer bound
> to keep it secret.
> 

Depends on the NDA's wording, but yes, that's typically in most of 
the NDA's I've seen (Not many and it's a slippery slope :)

Someone else mentioned the NDA's can be good (eg: developer can still
write code for product X even after agreeing to a NDA with X's maker for
detialed specs, etc..) That's a perfect example of Closed and Open worlds
working together and I feel rightfully ashamed for not thinking about it 
in the first place.  Yes, NDA's don't *always* have to have a negative 
connotation, sometimes they're just extra incentive (and CYA material) for 
keeping a secret, well secret :) 

Thanks!

-n
-- 
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nathan hruby <nathan@drama.uga.edu>
computer services specialist
uga drama
http://www.drama.uga.edu/support/
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