Download Maine Non-Disclosure Agreement Template [PDF]

The Maine non-disclosure agreement (NDA), or confidential disclosure agreement, is a legal document created with the goal of protecting certain business or trade secrets from unauthorized sharing with third parties.

It can protect information about the organization or operation of the business, sensitive information about the clients, intellectual property, and more.

What is a Trade Secret in Maine?

A trade secret in Maine is confidential information that describes the practice or operation of a certain business that is not accessible to the general public or competitors and is considered to be the competitive advantage of that business entity on the market.

Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

In this section, you can see the main types of non-disclosure agreement forms based on which party takes on the responsibility of not sharing the exchanged information with any third party:

Two Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

Unilateral NDA: This type of NDA obliges only one party to keep the shared information confidential. This type of NDA is mostly used by companies and their employees.
Mutual NDA: This type of NDA creates an obligation for all the parties involved to keep the shared information confidential. This is used in situations where each party shares certain sensitive information in communication with other parties involved.

Legal Requirements for Maine Non-Disclosure Agreement

Here, you can find the legal requirements regulating the Maine non-disclosure agreement template:

Mandatory Requirements

Statutes: § 1541 – 1548 - Uniform Trade Secrets Act
Definitions: § 1542
Statute of limitations: An action for misappropriation must be brought within four years after the misappropriation is discovered. (§ 1547)

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

In Maine, the non-disclosure agreement can be used in various situations depending on what type of information the parties want to keep confidential.

Therefore, we have various situations where parties choose to create an NDA:

NDA Uses and Scopes in Maine

Protection of intellectual property: Parties can use the NDA to protect their creative work, software, inventions, or other types of intellectual property that others have access to during their interaction with the party issuing the NDA.
Protection of business and trade secrets: Used to protect confidential information during business interactions between business partners, suppliers, vendors, and other third parties.
Protection of information connected with litigation: The parties that want to protect the details of their dispute settlement agreement can also use the NDA to do so.
Protection of information during employment: This document is usually signed along with the employment agreement. It is used to protect the confidential information the employees get access to during their employment with the company issuing the NDA.

Maine Non-Disclosure Agreement FAQ

Yes, the NDA is a legally binding document in Maine. It becomes legally binding once all the parties taking on the obligation of confidentiality sign it.
No, the NDA doesn’t need to be signed in front of a witness in Maine. However, if the parties want to provide an additional level of authentication for the document, they should invite at least one witness to provide their signature.
You can always decline to sign the NDA in Maine. However, before you do so, you should carefully consider the consequences this action might have on the relationship between you and the party issuing the NDA.