NDA
The NDA or Non Disclosure Agreement would be the first document handled between two parties interested in sharing ideas and working together.
In the computer peripheral industry, an existing customer-vendor relationship is almost a pre-requisite for a new project. The development teams on either side feed on past experiences to kick start new projects. This establishes a comfortable confidence level and helps reducing development time. Irrespective all new projects are governed by Non Disclosure Agreements signed by executives (or project drivers) from either side. A Product Manager would be expected to fill in the details that go into the NDA and this would be authorized by a decision maker if not the product manager himself/herself.
A sample NDA can be obtained for a fee at Nightcats mutlimedia and a simple but free one is available at inventnet.com. Most companies employ their legal counsel to draw one for them. In well established customer-vendor relationships they can even reuse an existing NDA.
More info on NDA:
Five Important Elements in a Nondisclosure Agreement (From Mary Bellis)
There are five important elements in a nondisclosure agreement:
- definition of confidential information
- exclusions from confidential information
- obligations of receiving party
- time periods
- miscellaneous provisions
About.com - http://inventors.about.com/od/nondisclosure/Non_Disclosure_Agreements.htm
Vietarticles.com - http://www.vietarticles.com/articles/40/1/When-to-Use-a-Non-Disclosure-Agreement/Page1.html
In the software services sector, it is possible that an existing customer-vendor relationship is seen as favorable rather than mandatory. Almost all major projects have multiple vendors in this sector. In some cases, it is just a matter of customizing a generic solution which eliminates the need for inter-personal skills.
