A mutual non-disclosure agreement is a form commonly used in business to protect both parties from having their confidential information shared without their permission. Unlike a standard NDA, which protects one (1) party from having their trade secrets stolen, a mutual contract dissuades either party from irresponsibly using learned information.
An example of a situation in which a mutual NDA would be used is when two (2) business owners are bringing their companies “together” to work jointly on a single project. Because the owners will have access to the other’s secretive business information, signing a unilateral contract wouldn’t make sense in this case. A mutual contract legally binds both parties to withhold all learned information until the contract ends, or until a specific action occurs (which should be specified in the contract).
Prior to heading to the first step, save the agreement in one of the following three (3) formats: Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word (.docx), or Rich Text Format (.rtf).
Step 1 – Read through the agreement
Taking the time to read through the contract is pivotal. Both parties should know exactly what they’re agreeing to, to ensure they’re not setting themselves up for a confrontation or dispute later on. So long there are no questions surrounding the agreement, the parties can continue to the next step.
Step 2 – Party names + addresses
Enter the date in which the contract is being entered into (day, month, and year), followed by the names (and type of corporation) of both parties.
Step 3 – Signatures
Both parties will need to enter the following information to make the agreement go into effect: