In manufacturing, companies take pride in the parts and castings they make, and Lawton Standard is no different.
But you may wonder why sometimes we don’t showcase or show off those awesome castings we make? Trust us, we’d love to brag about some of the incredible castings we make, but we also value our customer’s privacy and trust.
There is a little something called “NDAs”… which stands for Non-Disclosure Agreement.
In the foundry industry, many of our customers rely on these agreements to keep their intellectual property, designs, parts and castings from being seen by competitors or third parties.
This leads to a tricky situation for foundries like Lawton Standard. We’d love to share pictures, video and more to you of all the remarkable castings we make for some big companies around the country. But to do that, we would be breaking our NDAs with those companies and most likely lose their business.
Why is an NDA important?
Non-disclosure agreements are important on various levels.
NDAs are legal contracts preventing the sharing of confidential information.
There are three essential functions of NDAs:
This contract helps protect a customer’s trade secrets and proprietary information. In turn, that helps to protect them from the theft of their intellectual property and helps them to patent their invention or design.
As well as protecting the customer’s information, these NDAs also build trust between a customer and a company like Lawton Standard.
What is typically in a Non-Disclosure Agreement?
Non-disclosure agreements must be properly written up and signed.
There are two types of non-disclosure agreements:
The agreements will identify the parties involved and it will define what is confidential.
NDAs also include the scope of the confidentiality obligation, exclusions from the confidential treatment and the terms of the agreement.
A time frame is usually included too, as most NDAs don’t last forever. To go along with that, a return of information section is required to spell out what sensitive information needs to be returned or destroyed after the business deal has concluded.
Often an NDA also includes exclusions, laying out what types of information in the deal that don’t need to be kept confidential.
These agreements can include everything from product specs to client rosters, as well as business models, test results and even press releases or product reviews.
What if a company breaks a Non-Disclosure Agreement?
If a company breaks a non-disclosure agreement, there are more consequences than just breaking the trust of the customer.
In some cases, breaking an NDA can result in lawsuits against you. Another possibility is financial penalties.
In extreme cases, even criminal charges could be filed against you for breaking a non-disclosure agreement. Often that involves NDAs related to national security, government secrets or other sensitive information.
Most likely, when an NDA is broken, you can pretty much be assured that a customer won’t do business with you again. That is a trust we do not want to lose.
The limitations of a Non-Disclosure Agreement
Despite being fairly specific, non-disclosure agreements do have some limitations.
Enforcing an NDA can be challenging at times, especially if information has already been disclosed. Also, if the scope of the NDA is too broad it could be hard to enforce.
In some cases, like illegal activity, public health and safety concerns and government transparency, NDAs can’t be used to prevent the disclosure of information that is in the public’s best interest.
An NDA only provides protection for information specifically identified. Also, they are typically time-limited, which means when the NDA expires information may no longer be considered confidential.
Where an NDA is signed could make a difference too, as different jurisdictions have different laws on NDAs.
Conclusion of using Non-Disclosure Agreements
Overall, non-disclosure agreements can be a useful tool for protecting confidential information, building trust with a client or customer, and outlining what can and can’t be shared.
It is important to carefully consider the potential risks and limitations with NDAs, which Lawton Standard takes very seriously.
Our staff works hard to make sure these NDAs are tailored to specific intellectual property, designs and castings. We also are committed to making sure the NDAs are used appropriately and ethically.
We have built strong relationships with some of the top companies in the country by utilizing and honoring non-disclosure agreements.
Remember, if you want the highest-quality castings with remarkable customer service and a commitment to continuous improvement, look no further than The Lawton Standard Co.
References for this blog
Background on Non-Disclosure agreements from: