Download Arkansas Non-Disclosure Agreement Template [PDF]

The Arkansas non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal document signed between two or more parties, ensuring that the confidential information exchanged between them won’t be shared with any third party without the authorization of the parties involved.

What is a Trade Secret in Arkansas?

In Arkansas, a trade secret is proprietary information that is crucial to the operation or success of a certain business, that is not generally known, and that is kept confidential.

Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

The main types of non-disclosure agreements, or confidential disclosure agreements, are unilateral and mutual NDAs.

The main differentiation between the non-disclosure agreement forms is made based on who takes on the obligation of not sharing confidential information with third parties.

With a unilateral NDA, only one party has the obligation to keep all the information the other party has shared confidential. This is typical for the NDAs the employees sign with their companies.

However, with the mutual NDA, all the signing parties are obliged to keep the shared information confidential.

Legal Requirements for Arkansas Non-Disclosure Agreement

This section presents the legal framework for the non-disclosure agreement template in Arkansas:

Mandatory Requirements

Statutes: § 4-75-601 to 4-75-607
Definitions: § 4-75-601
Statute of limitations: An action for misappropriation must be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered. (§ 4-75-603)

What Can a Non-Disclosure Agreement Be Used For in Arkansas?

The non-disclosure agreement can be used in different situations depending on various factors, such as the type of information they want to protect, the level of confidentiality of the shared information, and more.

Here are some of the most common situations where parties choose to use the NDA:

NDA Uses and Scopes

Protection of business information: Mostly used during business interactions where other parties have access to the business secrets of the company issuing an NDA. Those can be business partners, suppliers, vendors, and others.
Protection of intellectual property: Used to protect inventions, software, creative work, or other kinds of intellectual property if they are not protected by intellectual property laws.
Protection of information accessed by the employees: Used to protect the sensitive business information employees get access to during their employment. Usually signed with the employment agreement.
Protection of information during the merger and acquisition: Used for protecting the sensitive and confidential information of the business entities participating in the merger and acquisition.

Arkansas Non-Disclosure Agreement FAQ

Yes, the NDA is a legally binding document in Arkansas. However, for the document to be fully binding, each party signing it must have legal capacity.
No, the Arkansas NDA doesn’t have to be signed in front of witnesses to be valid. However, the parties can always choose to sign the document in front of the witnesses to additionally confirm its authenticity.
Yes, you can decline an NDA in Arkansas. However, the party declining the NDA should also consider the consequences such action might have in terms of their relationship with the party issuing the NDA.