Access to Proprietary Information

• In order to market, design or manufacture the invention, an inventor will out of necessity, frequently be forced to disclose some or all of the proprietary and unique information concerning his invention to third parties in order to secure financing or to manufacture his product.
  
  

Function

• In order to protect his rights in the invention, an inventor will have any third parties who are granted access to the technology sign a non-disclosure agreement.
  
  

Effects

• The confidentiality agreement will require the party who receives access to the technology to take adequate steps to prevent disclosure of the proprietary information.
  
  

Features

• Some confidentiality agreements will identify specific steps the Recipient must take to preserve the confidential nature of the information so as to prevent unauthorized disclosure. This may include restricting access to the information only to certain designated individuals.
  
  

Provisions

• A confidentiality agreement relating to inventions will usually contain a provision stating that the unauthorized disclosure of the proprietary information by the Recipient would cause the Inventor irreparable harm.