NDA Lawyers for Dallas Small Businesses | Kennedy Law, P.C.

Should I Sign an NDA with My Employees?

Author: Stephen Kennedy

There are a number of different situations in which you, the employer, may find it necessary to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with your employees. You want to develop trust with your employees, but you also want to be sure your business information is protected. At Kennedy Law, P.C., our NDA lawyers take great pride in our NDA application services and how they protect our client’s intellectual property through business litigation.

Why You Should Sign an NDA with Your Company’s Employees

Here are five reasons we believe it’s important to have your employees sign an NDA.

NDA’s Show Employees What Needs to be Kept Confidential

It is important for you to present a NDA document to your employees as soon as possible. You will undoubtedly be hiring the best of the best, but those employees will take your company information with them whenever they leave. Asking them to sign an NDA application will make it clear what information must stay with the company.

Intellectual Property Ownership Rights

In most circumstances, any piece of work created by someone is theirs legally. However, US law states that employees who create or develop a product (whether tangible or intangible) for their employer must grant ownership to the company. An NDA makes it clear that ownership of the work produced is transferred to you.

There is slight variation in intellectual property ownership throughout the country, so it’s important to clarify how your company will handle it. Providing an NDA document for your employees lets them know whether or not their work is owned by the company. You can also create a “Property Rights Agreement” for your employees that further clarifies intellectual ownership.

Helps Manage Usage Permissions

You’ll most likely have to grant usage permissions to those inside and outside of your company, especially if your business produces intangible goods such as media or software. Inevitably, employees will have to use the property at some point. Having an employee NDA document in place allows your employees to use intellectual property when necessary without fear of legal repercussions.

Assists with Business Partnerships

As you business grows and achieves greater levels of success, you may find people drawn to partner with you. While this is often a good decision, the terms of intellectual property ownership can often remain unclear. Asking your new business partners to sign an NDA clarifies any confusion and prevents any disagreement over ownership down the road.

Psychological Effect on Your Employees

Most likely, your employees won’t have any plans to steal your company’s intellectual property. But putting an NDA in place often acts as a psychological restraint. If an employee knows there could legal ramifications for trying to claim ownership or share restricted intellectual property, they will have less incentive to do so.

NDA’s Give Clear Expectations

As a business owner, you know what pieces of intellectual property are your’s by default, but it may not be as clear to your employees. In order to avoid misinterpretation and provide clear expectations for your employees, it’s imperative that you have them sign an NDA application.

Are you looking for a qualified attorney to assist you in NDA documentation? Look no further than Kennedy Law, P.C. Our Dallas team of NDA lawyers are willing and able to help you complete the process. Get started with us today.

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