Online Inventors Academy: Tips for Inventors - Confidentiality Agreements

F, Jouffroy Premier Secret confié à Vénus

Photographer Christophe Moustier Licnece Set out in Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

Most inventors will have been told by their patent attorneys, Business and IP Centre librarians or other advisors to keep their invention secret until they apply for a patent.  The reason for that advice is that a patent can be granted only if the invention is new.  Once the public knows about it, the invention is by definition no longer new.   It is also worth mentioning that a lot of inventions will never be patented for one reason or another.   In some cases that may be because their subject matter is unpatentable.  In other cases, it may be because the invention is not worth the cost of patenting. 

Inventors often need to discuss their inventions with others such as possible collaborators, product design consultants, business angels, manufacturers or potential licensees.  When they do so, they are often advised to obtain the signature of the person to whom they disclose the invention ("the confidante") on a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement ("NDA"). Such agreements require the confidante to use the information only for a specified purpose and either not to disclose the information at all or to disclose it only to designated personnel.

It is important to note that the obligation not to disclose or use such information arises not from the agreement but from the law of confidence. Mr Justice Megarry explained the principle in Coco v A.N. Clark (Engineers) Limited [1968] F.S.R. 415, 419:

"In my judgment, three elements are normally required if, apart from contract, a case of breach of confidence is to succeed. First, the information itself, in the words of Lord Greene, M.R. in the Saltman case on page 215, must 'have the necessary quality of confidence about it.' Secondly, that information must have been imparted in circumstances importing an obligation of confidence. Thirdly, there must be an unauthorised use of that information to the detriment of the party communicating it. I must briefly examine each of these requirements in turn."

Probably the most frequently found circumstance in which the imparting of information gives rise to an obligation of confidence is when the person confiding the information ("the confider") and the confidante enter a confidentiality agreement.  It is not, however, the only circumstance.   Another instance is where a client seeks advice from a solicitor or patent attorney.   No NDA is required because it is obvious that the client is disclosing, and the solicitor or attorney is holding, such information in confidence.  

In Coco, the judge said that the information must have the necessary quality of confidence about it.  That means that the information must have some value in that its unauthorized use or disclosure must either benefit the confidante or harm the consider. The information must be secret or at least not generally known.   It could be sensitive technical or commercial information or personal information such as the state of a celebrity's marriage.   A third requirement is that the confider must take reasonable steps to prevent the information's disclosure or misuse perhaps by keeping the document containing the information under lock and key or in a restricted file on a computer.

Obligations of confidence are usually enforced by proceedings in the civil courts.  In There's more to the Law of Confidence than NDAs 14 Oct 2019 I wrote:

"If, as sometimes, happens I am instructed to resist an application for an interim injunction where the applicant relies on an NDA I have a field day. First, I ask whether the information was ever confidential in the first place. Sometimes it is something that has been common knowledge in the industry since Adam was a boy. Other times there has been no attempt to keep the information secret. I was once negotiating terms of a licence which negotiations were taking place in serviced offices when I found the other side's supposedly confidential document in the publicly accessible ladies' loo. There is often room to dispute whether the confidentiality agreement was ever intended to apply to the information in question. One way or another, a halfway competent intellectual property specialist can drive a coach and horses through a bog-standard standalone non-disclosure agreement."

It is essential to specify in the NDA the information that is confidential, the occasion on which it is communicated, the documentation or media in which it is held, the persons to whom it can be disclosed, the purpose of the disclosure, the use to which the information can be put, the deadline for the return of the documents, media and any copies and so on.

In the above article, I suggested:

"If you want to rely on the law of confidence, print a form in duplicate on no carbon required paper with boxes for:

• The name and full postal address, job title, email, telephone and other contact details of the confidante and those of his or her employer if they are different.
• Identify the information to be delivered and the way in which it is to be passed (that is to say, private conversation, whether it is is a document and if so what it contains).
• An acknowledgement that the information has been disclosed in confidence.
• A finite period in which the confidante can contend that the information is not confidential at all and a rapid and cost-effective way of resolving such contentions such as expert determination or expedited arbitration.
• The use to which the information may be put.
• A deadline for the return of confidential documents and may have been made.
• Submission to the jurisdiction of the English courts.

Every single confidential conversation and the delivery of every single document should be recorded and logged separately. If any of the conditions is breached, the confider should call the confidante at once. If it is still not put right the confider should consider legal action including possibly an interim injunction."

Interim injunctions are not cheap to obtain because a lot of work has to be done by solicitors, patent attorney or other authorized litigators and counsel or other advocates in a very space of time.  There is always a risk that the application may fail and the applicant will be required to contribute to the respondent's costs in addition to his or her own.  But if the information is essential to the success of an enterprise there may be no other way.  

For most startups and many other small and medium enterprises, the only way in which enforcement litigation can be funded is by obtaining before-the-event insurance.   I have been urging inventors to take out such cover since 2005 (see IP Insurance  3 Sept 2005),   I repeated my message every year until 2020 2020 when the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys published its own guidance on IP insurance to its members (see IPO Guidance: Intellectual Property Insurance 25 Feb 2020).  I now refer inventors and all SME to CIPA's Advice on IP insurance which complements comprehensive Guidance on Intellectual Property Insurance from the Intellectual Property Office.

Last September I launched the Online Inventors Academy with a talk on Patents and Alternatives to Patenting.   Although the audience was not large we had a very lively and informed discussion that exceeded the advertised time by a whole hour,  Unfotunately the response to the next event was disappointing.    As Christmas was approaching we decided to relaunch the Online Inventors' Club and the Online Inventors' Academy until the New Year.   I will kick off the new season with a talk on confidentiality on 23 Jan 2025 at 18:00.   Attendees can join by clicking this link.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article or the Online Inventors' Club or Academy generally should call me on 020 7404 5252 during normal UK office hours or send me a message through my contact page, 

There's more to the Law of Confidence than NDAs

Jane Lambert

I am often asked to draft or review non-disclosure agreements or "NDA". I do so with a lot of trepidation because there are many misconceptions about such instruments.  A typical example occurred last week when I was asked to advise how to prevent potential collaborators and investors from stealing the idea for a new software product.  I had advised that copyright was likely to subsist in anything that had been written down and that the law of confidence could prevent unauthorized use or disclosure.

"Oh!" came the reply. "So long as I have an NDA in place I should be alright?" Where that idea had come from, I just don't know.  I had not even mentioned non-disclosure agreements.  "That's not what I said," I told him.  "There's much more to the law of confidence that NDAs",

If, as sometimes, happens I am instructed to resist an application for an interim injunction where the applicant relies on an NDA I have a field day.  First, I ask whether the information was ever confidential in the first place.  Sometimes it is something that has been common knowledge in the industry since Adam was a boy.  Other times there has been no attempt to keep the information secret. I was once negotiating terms of a licence which negotiations were taking place in serviced offices when I found the other side's supposedly confidential document in the publicly accessible ladies' loo. There is often room to dispute whether the confidentiality agreement was ever intended to apply to the information in question. One way or another, a halfway competent intellectual property specialist can drive a coach and horses through a bog-standard standalone non-disclosure agreement.

I think confusion arises because folk regard an NDA in the same way as they do commercial agreements.  That is a mistake because any obligation not to disclose or use confidential information arises not from the contract but from the confidential relationship between the parties.  Mr Justice Megarry put it this way in Coco v A.N. Clark (Engineers) Limited  [1968] F.S.R. 415, 419:

"In my judgment, three elements are normally required if, apart from contract, a case of breach of confidence is to succeed. First, the information itself, in the words of Lord Greene, M.R. in the Saltman case on page 215, must “have the necessary quality of confidence about it” . Secondly, that information must have been imparted in circumstances importing an obligation of confidence. Thirdly, there must be an unauthorised use of that information to the detriment of the party communicating it. I must briefly examine each of these requirements in turn."

The key phrase is "circumstances imparting an obligation of confidence".  The signing of a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement can indeed be one of those circumstances but it is not essential.  There are many circumstances in which an obligation of confidence can arise where there is no agreement at all.  Consulting a patent attorney about a patent for an invention is one obvious example.  Finding documents in the street marked "Top Secret" or "Confidential" would be another.

If you want to rely on the law of confidence, print a form in duplicate on no carbon required paper with boxes for:

• The name and full postal address, job title, email, telephone and other contact details of the confidante and those of his or her employer if they are different.
• Identify the information to be delivered and the way in which it is to be passed (that is to say, private conversation, whether it is is a document and if so what it contains).
• An acknowledgement that the information has been disclosed in confidence.
• A finite period in which the confidante can contend that the information is not confidential at all and a rapid and cost-effective way of resolving such contentions such as expert determination or expedited arbitration.
• The use to which the information may be put.
• A deadline for the return of confidential documents and may have been made.
• Submission to the jurisdiction of the English courts.

Every single confidential conversation and the delivery of every single document should be recorded and logged separately.  If any of the conditions is breached, the confider should call the confidante at once. If it is still not put right the confider should consider legal action including possibly an interim injunction.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article or confidentiality generally should call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.

Trade Secrecy Law changes Tomorrow - check your NDA, Standard Terms and other Agreements

Jane Lambert

Tomorrow is a big day for inventors. It is significant because it is the day on which Directive 2016/943 ("the Trade Secrets Directive") is due to be implemented. Every country in the EU, including the UK, has to bring its laws on trade secrets into line with the Directive by 9 June 2018.  It concerns inventors because every patented invention is supposed to start out as a trade secret and for many other inventions that's the way they remain.

Why was the Directive adopted?
At paragraph (9) of a set of paragraphs known as "the recitals", the European Council and Parliament explained that they adopted the Directive because there are big differences in the way that different countries protect trade secrets giving rise to uncertainty, causing unnecessary expense and impeding new product development in Europe.

What does the Directive do?
The most important provision is art 6 (1) which requires EU member states to "provide for the measures, procedures and remedies necessary to ensure the availability of civil redress against the unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure of trade secrets."

What is a "Trade Secret"?
For the purpose of the Trade Secrets Directive a ‘trade secret’ means

"information which meets all of the following requirements:
(a) it is secret in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and assembly of its components, generally known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question;
(b) it has commercial value because it is secret;
(c) it has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances, by the person lawfully in control of the information, to keep it secret."

Basically that has always been the position in the UK but that was not the case in every country.

What is meant by Civil Redress?
Basically injunctions (orders by a judge) not to acquire, use or disclose trade secrets in future or the payment of compensation or other monetary relief for unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of trade secrets in the past.  In some circumstances, injunctions and other relief such as orders for the preservation of evidence or assets can be granted before the issue of proceedings.

Do we have to comply with the Directive as we have voted to leave the EU? 
Yes as the UK remains a member of the EU until 29 March 2019 at the very earliest and we should have to abide by EU law until 31 Dec 2020 under the draft withdrawal agreement or even longer under the proposed backstop agreement. More importantly this Directive works in favour of British business because entrepreneurs and inventors know that for the first time the trade secrecy laws of the other countries of the EU are more or less in line with those of the UK.

What has HMG done to comply with the Directive?
HM government believes that our law of confidence and contract law plus our Civil Procedure Rules already comply with most of the provisions of the Trade Secrets Directive but it has identified a few issues where they do not.  One concerns definitions and the other the time limits within which an action for unlawful trade secret acquisition, use or disclosure must be launched. Also there is some doubt as to whether the Scottish courts have the powers to make the orders required by the Directives. To address those issues, Mr Sam Gyimah MP, Minister of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, has signed The Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations SI 2018 No 597 which will come into force tomorrow.

So what do Inventors need to know?
Even though reg 3 (1) of the regulations makes clear that the existing law of confidence still applies in relation to trade secrets the Directive may give trade secret holders (that is to say, persons lawfully controlling trade secrets) greater rights and powers. Also, we are used to talking about "confiders", "confidantes" and "breaches of contract" while the Trade Secrets Directive introduces new terms time like "trade secret holders", "infringers" and "infringing goods".  It would probably be a good idea for trade secret holders to ask their lawyers to review their terms and conditions, standard contracts and, in particular, non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements to make sure that they are still effective.

Where to get more information?
I have written more about this topic in Transposing the Trade Secrets Directive into English Law: The Trade Secrets (Enforcement etc) Regulations 6 June 2018 NIPC Law. That article links to some of my other articles on that topic. I am also giving a talk on the topic at Barclays Eagle Labs in The Landing on 26 June 2018.  If you want to discuss this article or trade secrets generally, contact me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.

Understanding Trade Secrecy and Confidentiality

Jane Lambert

The right to bring an action to restrain, or recover damages for, the unauthorized disclosure or use of a trade secret is probably the most widely held intellectual property right but it is also one of the least understood. This article attempts to shed some light on the issue.

1. What is a trade secret?

As good a definition as any would be technical or commercial information that is secret or not generally known the unauthorized use or disclosure of which would benefit the person who receives it or harm the person who wants to keep it secret. That could include an algorithm, business plan, chemical formula or customer list.

2. How does one acquire a trade secret?

You can create it by data analysis, design, experiment, market research, R & D or other work or you can license it in from a third party. The important thing is that the information has to have some intrinsic technical or commercial value and it is kept secret.

3.  Do I need a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement?

Not necessarily. The right to sue to restrain, or recover damages for, unauthorized use or disclosure arises from a set of judge made rules that imposes a duty upon a person who receives a trade secret in confidence not to use or disclose the information without the owner's consent or other lawful excuse. Sometimes it is obvious that information has been disclosed in confidence. Other times you have to put the recipient of the information on notice. That is done by getting him or her to sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement.

4.  Give me an example of when a duty of confidence is obvious

When you seek legal advice from a lawyer or a patent agent is one example. Our professional codes of conduct impose an automatic duty of confidence which can be enforced by our regulators as well as the courts. Another example is where you spot on envelope marked "TOP SECRET" or "PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL" on a bus or train. You should contact the owner or authorities and hand it in to them immediately.

5. Where can I find a reliable all purpose confidentiality agreement?

Such an agreement does not really exist because the obligation not to use or disclose varies according to the circumstances. The Intellectual Property Office gives some useful guidance in Non-Disclosure Agreements and it offers examples of a one-way and mutual non-disclosure agreements but these are just examples and cannot be used in every single case.

6.  What do you suggest?

if you ever have to enforce a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement in court you have to:

• identify the information precisely as well as the date, time, place and circumstances in which it was given;
• prove that it was communicated expressly in confidence or in circumstances giving rise to an obligation of confidence;
• persuade a judge that it has technical or commercial value in that its unauthorized use or disclosure would benefit the person receiving it or harm you;
• satisfy the judge that it has been kept secret at all times; and
• explain the purpose of the disclosure, state who us entitled to see it and for what purpose and when documents containing the information are to be returned.

The best way to do that is to set it out in an acknowledgement and undertaking by the recipient of the information  and I have prepared a form for that purpose (see Confidentiality Agreement 21 Sept 2010 JD Supra). Particulars of the agreement should be entered into a ledger and strictly monitored.

7.  What happens if the recipient breaches his or her promise?

You contact them immediately, remind them courteously of the terms of their undertaking and ask them to comply with their promises immediately.  If they won't do that immediately then you must take legal advce immediately because you may have to apply to a judge of the Chancery Division for an interim injunction to restrain the disclosure. If you are advised to make such an application you must not hesitate. Once information enters the public domain it ceases to be confidential. A delay of a few days - sometimes of a few hours - can be critical.
NB Don't bring an interim injunction application in the IPEC small claims track as the judge has no jurisdiction to give such relief. You can always transfer your case to IPEC or some other court after you have made your your application.

8.   Are there any get-outs to the duty not to use or disclose?

Loads. Let me give you just a few examples.  As I said above, information ceased to be confidential once it reaches the public domain so long as that is not the fault of the recipient of the information. If the trade secret is a formula or mechanism it is quite lawful to buy a product made to the formula or embodying other technical information to find out how it is made or how it works once it has been placed on the market. You may discover the information yourself by independent, parallel research. You can't rely on the obligation of confidence to break the law or do anything that is regarded as improper.

9.   Say Something about the Trade Secrets Directive

The Council and European Parliament adopted Directive (EU) 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure (OJ 15.6.2016 L 157/1)  on 8 June 2016 which harmonizes the trade secrets laws of the 28 EU member states. Governments have to implement that directive by the 9 June 2018 which is likely to be before we leave the EU. Although we will cease to be bound by the directive when we leave the EU it will probably be in our interests to transpose it into our law because the directive offers an opportunity to codify our law of trade secrets. I discussed this directive in The Trade Secrets Directive 7 July 2016.

10.   Further Information

If you want to discuss any part of this article call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or use my contact form.  Meanwhile, here are some other materials that you may like to read.

Jane Lambert    All You Need to Know About Confidentiality   Leeds Inventors Club 14 June 2006

Jane Lambert    Confidential Information  NIPC Inventors Club, 12 Nov 2005

Intellectual Property Office Guidance Non-Disclosure Agreements 12 March 2015

Alternatives to Invention Promotion Companies

The other day I was asked for my opinion on an invention promotion company. It was not one that I had ever dealt with so I could not answer the enquiry directly but I referred the inventor to the advice that the US Patent and Trademark Office and our own Intellectual Property Office had given on invention promotion companies generally. 

The inventor thanked me for my reply and added:

"My family and friends have given me very positive feedback on my invention but how else do I check if my invention is good ?
What should I do next ?
Where can I find trustworthy contacts ?"

I replied:

"First do some market research. You can get some help with that at the Business and IP Centre of the British Library.
Next you should decide whether to exploit your invention directly by setting up in business to produce and sell it or licensing it out to someone else.
If you decide to license it out you will need to show your licensee how it will make money from the invention which means that you have to do much the same work as you would if you were making and selling it yourself. If you do get it out you will get a licence fee which will typically be a small percentage of the sale price.
I can advise you on the legal issues but not on the financial ones.
I wish you all the best with your invention."

The British Library and its associated libraries in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield have massive resources on market research, business planning and everything else an inventor would need to know to set up in business. If he or she is not clear how to use those resources there are courses from the library staff and its partners.

I also advise the inventor to join an inventors' club if one is nearby. There he or she will meet product development consultants, patent attorneys, business advisers and other professionals who assist individual inventors and, most importantly, other inventors who can share their experience with him or her. I have listed some of the inventors clubs that I know about in the side panel to this blog. The Wessex Round Table of Inventors has a much longer list. I am sure that there will be lots of trustworthy and knowledgeable contacts at any of those associations.

In my email I made clear that I am a lawyer and not a business adviser. Here are some of the things I can do for inventors.

1. Tailoring a non-disclosure agreement to the inventor's needs or reviewing or advising the inventor on somebody else's.
2. Advising the inventor on the optimum intellectual property protection for his or her invention and if that includes patents helping him or her find and instruct patent attorneys in this country and abroad who can apply for them.  As I do not prosecute patent, design or trade mark applications I have no interest in selling the inventor a service though I must stress that every patent attorney I know would try to advise objectively too.
3. Representing the inventor at a hearing in the Intellectual Property Office if the examiner challenges his or her application.
4, Helping the inventor negotiate and draft agreements with collaborators, investors and consultants.
5. Drawing up terms and conditions, manufacturing and distribution agreements if the inventor wishes to make and sell the invention him or herself or licences if he or she doesn't and just about any other agreement the inventor may need.
6. Helping to keep the inventor out of trouble with third parties and resolving difficulties if any arise.

There was a time when barristers could be approached only through solicitors or patent or trade mark attorneys but that rule changed over 10 years ago, Now we can do more or less anything that a solicitor can do and as we don't have offices to maintain our services are often cheaper. You can find out more about instructing us in IP Services from Barristers 6 Apr 2013.

Should anyone wish to discuss this article, invention promotion companies or help to inventors in general they should contact me through my message form or call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours.