Download Maryland Non-Disclosure Agreement Template [PDF]

The Maryland non-disclosure agreement (NDA), or confidential disclosure agreement, is a legal document that defines the confidential information of the parties signing the document and establishes an obligation for the signing parties not to share the provided information with the public.

What is a Trade Secret in Maryland?

In Maryland, a trade secret is a certain method, practice, or other type of information that is considered confidential and is crucial to a certain business, its success, and its position on the market.

Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

In Maryland, there are two types of non-disclosure agreement forms, depending on which party is obliged to keep the shared information confidential:

Two Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

Unilateral NDA: This type of NDA is used in situations where only one party is required to keep the shared information confidential. This is mostly used by companies to protect the information their employees get access to during the employment period.
Mutual NDA: Here, both parties exchange certain confidential information with each other, so they both sign the NDA and accept the obligation not to share this information with any third party.

Legal Requirements for Maryland Non-Disclosure Agreement

This section presents the state regulations for the Maryland non-disclosure agreement template:

Mandatory Requirements for NDA in Maryland

Statutes: § 11-1201 – 11-1209
Definitions: § 11-1201
Statute of limitations: An action for misappropriation must be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered. (§ 11-1206)

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

The non-disclosure agreement can be used in different situations based on various factors, such as the level of confidentiality of the information, the type of information the parties want to protect, the type of entities they are exchanging the information with, and more.

Below, you can find the most common use cases for the non-disclosure agreement:

NDA Uses and Scopes in Maryland

Protection of business information: The NDA is mostly used during business negotiations where the party signing the NDA has access to the confidential information of the party issuing it.
Protection of intellectual property: Used by parties that want to protect their creative work, software, inventions, or other kinds of intellectual property if they are not protected by intellectual property laws.
Protection of information during the merger and acquisition: Used for protecting the confidential information of the business entities participating in the merger and acquisition process.
Protection of information during employment: The employers use the NDA to protect the information their employees get access to during their employment.

Maryland Non-Disclosure Agreement FAQ

Yes, the NDA is a legally binding document in Maryland. It becomes legally binding the moment all the parties taking on the obligation sign it.
No, the Maryland NDA doesn’t need to be signed in front of a witness to be valid. However, the parties can always decide to include the witness signatures and additionally authenticate the document.
You can always decline to sign the NDA in Maryland. However, declining to sign the NDA can have a potential negative impact on the relationship between you and the party issuing the NDA.