All of the companies who've approached me have required me to sign them before I say anything/step off the plane.

No phones, cameras, pagers, mp3 players, etc...

Unless I say something, it's not something that'll bite me in the ass later is it?

I don't want to get in good with a company and then have their competitor sue me for some b.s. about stealing their IP or processes, software code, etc...

I mean I'm being paid for my time, but I hate signing anything.

What is your opinion?

Anything that pays the bills is ok or Screw that, let someone else take the hit?

9/17/2007 10:05:27 PM

It's a pretty common thing among IP sensitive businesses. Just make sure to read the things and know what you're agreeing too. Also, you would have to try pretty hard to put yourself in a situation where they would have enough evidence to successfully sue.

9/17/2007 10:59:41 PM

^

9/17/2007 11:08:28 PM

i'm sure this won't be one sided and there will be some people that say they love signing them....

great thread idea

9/17/2007 11:18:04 PM

its not uncommon for businesses to have vendors sign NDAs. i've signed a couple, its really not a big deal to me. and once you sign, sometimes you get to see some neat things.

the scary things are the safety liability waivers you have to sign basically saying you/your family agree not to sue for any reason including death or dismemberment while on their property. that's not cool.

9/17/2007 11:35:40 PM

^ I had to sign a safety waver like that just to be a graduate student.

9/18/2007 1:42:19 AM

I dont mind them. I completely understand why they exist.

The only drawback has been in job hunting, because I can't even talk about my previous projects, and my field is extremely portfolio dependent. Luckily every company I've ever worked for has been flexible and worked with me about what I can talk about in more general terms.

Also, without NDA's I wouldn't have gotten to work on many AMAZING projects, many of which made major national headlines. Definitely a warm fuzzy feeling on those days.

9/18/2007 1:56:48 AM

haha, i've signed a shit ton of them.

9/18/2007 6:38:11 PM

it is cool to see things that no other humans outside those four walls will ever see, but it's also hard to forget.

what do you do if you talk in your sleep?

i know it sounds silly, but i do it sometimes.

i love meeting with the company lawyers to see what i can say and what i can't.

reminds me of the scene in fight club where the airline attendant refers to what could be buzzing in ed norton's luggage.

i guess after i've been in the field for a while, it'll be like second nature to have my lawyer read over them and sign them, but right now it's wierd.

Quote :

"i'm sure this won't be one sided and there will be some people that say they love signing them.... great thread idea"

don't hate. you'll get to a level where you have to sign them someday...

[Edited on September 18, 2007 at 10:25 PM. Reason : ha]

9/18/2007 10:24:44 PM

oh i get it - you think you are important when you sign an NDA - one can only hope that they achieve that level one day

is the security clearance thread next?

where secret agents with top secret clearance are afraid they will talk in their sleep and expose government secrets?

9/18/2007 10:34:40 PM

that's right sir, mr. important secret agent man here. reporting for duty!

you really need to lighten up.

9/18/2007 11:02:34 PM

Quote :

"don't hate. you'll get to a level where you have to sign them someday..."

burn

9/18/2007 11:28:17 PM

NDAs aren't a big deal, it's no-compete clauses that irritate me... i mean, if i wanted to stay in the industry i was in i'm sure i could find a way around them, i doubt it would hold up very well in court... but i'd rather not bother with it...

9/18/2007 11:35:41 PM

Yeah, NDA's are pretty much standard practice if you want to work on anything remotely interesting, and as mentioned by others here, unless you're working for a total ass, most companies will work with you on what you can put on your resume for white world consumption.

9/19/2007 1:34:41 AM

Quote :

"NDA's love'em or hate'em?"

Quote :

"i'm sure this won't be one sided and there will be some people that say they love signing them.... great thread idea "

9/20/2007 10:25:13 AM

NDAs are no big thing. Non-competes are bs.

9/24/2007 11:31:08 PM

Fuck that - I make everyone sign a non-compete when they come to work for me. Seriously, the financial, marketing, merchandising, etc insight we have into various aspects of a big box retailer could be devestating if they went to work for a competitor.

And our outside agencies have air tight NC's

9/25/2007 6:34:38 PM

^ then why didn't you post in the non-compete thread as opposed to here?

?topic=495048

9/25/2007 9:59:20 PM

^lol

^^oh wow, devestating,

10/8/2007 1:15:34 PM

just means you can't divulge critical stuff, or stuff of any value

11/12/2007 10:55:59 PM

^ Good job replaying to a dead thread with redundant information. You deserve a gold star.

11/13/2007 12:56:36 AM

not all nda's hold up in court -- only the ones where they can prove proprietary right/trade secrets. when it comes to IT though ... proprietary is basically the whole game. I signed an NDA at my job and I think my company requires vendors to sign non-compete/NDA before they are allowed to visit any of our factories.

some NDA's have a time limit or other guidelines, too .. [new amirite]

[Edited on February 5, 2008 at 11:29 PM. Reason : oh yeah!]

2/5/2008 11:26:33 PM