A Maryland non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legally binding form used for securing confidential information. It requires the recipient(s) of information to refrain from sharing it with anyone not explicitly stated in the form, indefinitely or for a specific time period.
Situations in which drafting and signing an NDA is common include potential business mergers, the hiring of new employees, keeping patient’s health information secret, and for ensuring newly developed technology is kept out of competitor’s hands.
The form is a combination of a bilateral and unilateral contract. An agreement is unilateral if there is only one (1) party sharing secrets. It is unilateral if both parties will be sharing information with each other.
“Trade secret” means information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process, that:
(1) Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and
(2) Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.[1]