The Louisiana non-disclosure agreement (NDA), or confidential disclosure agreement, is a legally binding document that is designed to protect certain confidential information, such as business or trade secrets, intellectual property, information about the clients, and other types of information that the parties want to keep confidential.
What is a Trade Secret in Louisiana?
In Louisiana, a trade secret is proprietary information that is crucial to the operation or success of a certain business entity, is not publicly known, and is therefore kept confidential.
Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements
The main types of non-disclosure agreement forms are unilateral and mutual NDAs. The main factor differentiating these two types is which party has the obligation to keep the shared information confidential.
The unilateral NDA creates this obligation only for one party, while the mutual NDA creates the obligation of confidentiality for all parties signing the document.
Legal Requirements for Louisiana Non-Disclosure Agreement
This section presents the legal framework for the Louisiana non-disclosure agreement template:
Mandatory Requirements
Statutes: Chapter 13-A - Uniform Trade Secrets Act
Definitions: § 1431
Prescriptive period: An action for misappropriation must be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered. (§ 1436)
What Can a Non-Disclosure Agreement Be Used For in Louisiana?
The Louisiana non-disclosure agreement template can be used in different situations depending on the type of information the parties want to protect, who is signing the NDA, the level of protection they want to provide, and more.
Here are the most common reasons parties choose to create the NDA:
NDA Uses and Scopes in Louisiana
Protection of business and trade secrets: The NDA can define what information shared between the parties is going to be considered a business or trade secret. By signing it, the parties agree not to share it with any unauthorized third parties.
Protection of information during research collaborations: The NDA can also be used by the research organization to protect the information they get access to during their research activities.
Protection of intellectual property: Used for protecting creative work, software, inventions, or other types of intellectual property other parties have access to during their interaction with the party issuing the NDA.
Protection of customer information: The parties that have to share certain sensitive information about their clients with the parties processing this information must issue the NDA to be in line with the data protection laws.
Louisiana Non-Disclosure Agreement FAQ
Yes, the NDA is a legally binding document in Louisiana. However, all parties taking on the obligation from the NDA must have legal capacity when signing the document.
The Louisiana NDA doesn’t need to be signed in front of a witness to be valid. However, the parties might consider including the witness signatures to additionally confirm the authenticity of the document.
Yes, you can decline to sign the NDA in Louisiana. However, before doing so, you should carefully consider the consequences this action might have in terms of the relationship between you and the party issuing the NDA.