Download South Dakota Non-Disclosure Agreement Template [PDF]

The South Dakota non-disclosure agreement (NDA), or confidential disclosure agreement, is a legally binding document designed to protect certain sensitive information, such as business or trade secrets, information on business organizations and operations, client information, and other types of confidential information.

What is a Trade Secret in South Dakota?

A trade secret in South Dakota is confidential business information, providing details on the organization, structure, and operation of a certain business entity that is considered a competitive advantage of that business on the market and is therefore kept confidential.

Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

In South Dakota, there are two types of non-disclosure agreement forms, depending on which party takes on the obligation of keeping the shared information confidential:

Two Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

Unilateral NDA: Here, only the party signing the NDA takes on the obligation not to disclose the confidential information to third parties. It is mostly used by the companies and their employees.
Mutual NDA: Here, the obligation is formed for all the parties, including the party issuing the NDA.

Legal Requirements for the South Dakota Non-Disclosure Agreement

In this section, you can find the legal requirements regulating the South Dakota non-disclosure agreement template:

Mandatory Requirements

Statutes: § 37-29-1 to 37-29-11
Definitions: § 37-29-1
Statute of limitations: An action for misappropriation must be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered. (§ 37-29-6)

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

The South Dakota non-disclosure agreement can be used in different situations based on the type of information the parties want to protect, the level of information confidentiality, the type of entity the party is sharing their information with, and more.

This section outlines the most common situations where the NDA can be used:

NDA Uses and Scopes

Protection of confidential business information: The NDA can define what information is considered business and trade secrets and establish an obligation for the parties to keep the business and trade secrets confidential.
Protection of intellectual property: Used for protecting the software, inventions, creative work, or other types of intellectual property other parties have access to during their interaction with the party issuing the NDA.
Protection of information during research collaborations: The research organizations often use the NDA to protect their findings during the research process.
Protection of customer information: The business entities that must share certain sensitive information about their clients with the third parties that process this information can use the NDA to be in line with the data protection laws.

South Dakota Non-Disclosure Agreement FAQ

#1. Is an NDA legally binding in South Dakota?

Yes, the NDA is a legally binding document in South Dakota. However, all the parties signing it must have legal capacity. Otherwise, the document will not be binding for them.
No, the South Dakota NDA doesn’t need to be signed in front of a witness to be valid. However, the parties are free to include the witness signatures if they want to additionally confirm the document’s authenticity.
You can always decline to sign the NDA in South Dakota. However, this action might have a potential negative impact on the relationship between you and the party issuing the NDA.