Download Ohio Non-Disclosure Agreement Template [PDF]

The Ohio non-disclosure agreement (NDA), or confidential disclosure agreement, is a legal document that defines the confidential information of the parties signing the document and obliges each party not to share the confidential information with third parties.

What is a Trade Secret in Ohio?

A trade secret in Ohio is confidential business information, such as information about the business’s organization or operation, intellectual property, certain practices, methods, and more, that can be considered a competitive advantage of a certain business entity and, for that reason, must be kept confidential.

Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

In this section, you can see the main types of non-disclosure agreement forms. The main differentiation is made based on which party takes on the confidentiality obligation.

Therefore, we have:

Two Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

Unilateral NDA: This type of NDA obliges only one party to keep the shared information confidential. It is mostly used by companies that want to protect the confidential information their employees get access to during the employment period.
Mutual NDA: Here, all parties to the NDA take on the confidentiality obligation. This is mostly used in situations where all parties share certain confidential information with other parties.

Legal Requirements for Ohio Non-Disclosure Agreement

In this section, you can see the state laws and requirements for the Ohio non-disclosure agreement template:

Mandatory Requirements

Statutes: § 1333.61 – 1333.69
Definitions: § 1333.61
Time for commencing action: An action for misappropriation shall be commenced within four years after the misappropriation is discovered. (§ 1333.66)

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

In Ohio, the non-disclosure agreement can be used in the following situations:

NDA Uses and Scopes

Protection of business and trade secrets: The parties choose to draft the NDA to protect the confidential information they are sharing with each other during their business collaboration.
Protection of information during employment: The companies choose to issue the NDA to protect the information their employees get access to during the employment period. It is usually signed along with the employment agreement.
Protection of information during research collaboration: The parties can use the NDA to keep confidential their findings during the research period or to protect the results of the research.
Protection of information after litigation: The parties can also use the NDA to keep confidential the details of their dispute settlement agreement.

Ohio Non-Disclosure Agreement FAQ

Yes, the NDA is a legally binding document in Ohio. However, for the document to be fully legally binding for all the parties, each party must have the legal capacity to sign it.
No, the Ohio NDA doesn’t need to be signed in front of a witness to be valid. However, if the parties want to provide an additional level of authentication for the document, they can include the witness signatures.
Yes, you can decline to sign the NDA in Ohio. However, before doing so, you should consider all the consequences that action might have in terms of the relationship between you and the party issuing the NDA.