Download West Virginia Non-Disclosure Agreement Template [PDF]

The West Virginia non-disclosure agreement (NDA), or confidential disclosure agreement, is a legally binding document created to protect confidential information, such as client information, information about the business operation or structure, business and trade secrets, and more.

What is a Trade Secret in West Virginia?

A trade secret in West Virginia is information about the operation or structure of a certain business entity that is considered to be their competitive advantage on the market and is therefore kept confidential.

Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

In West Virginia, there are two main types of non-disclosure agreement forms, depending on which party accepts the obligation of keeping the shared information confidential.

Therefore, we differentiate between:

Two Types of Non-Disclosure Agreements

Unilateral NDA: Here, the party signing the NDA takes on an obligation not to disclose the information the party issuing the NDA has shared with them. Mostly used by employers that want to keep confidential the information their employees get access to.
Mutual NDA: Here, all the parties accept the obligation of keeping the shared information confidential. This type is used in situations where all the parties share certain confidential information.

Legal Requirements for West Virginia Non-Disclosure Agreement

Here, you can see the legal framework for the West Virginia non-disclosure agreement template:

Mandatory Requirements

Statutes: § 47-22-1 to 47-22-10
Definitions: § 47-22-1
Statute of limitations: An action for misappropriation must be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered. (§ 47-22-6)

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

The West Virginia non-disclosure agreement can be used in different situations based on the type of information the parties want to protect, the level of confidentiality of such information, the type of entity issuing the NDA, and more.

This section presents the main situations where the NDA can be used:

NDA Uses and Scopes

Protection of confidential business information: Business entities often use the NDA to protect the sensitive business information their business partners, vendors, suppliers, and other third parties get access to during their business cooperation.
Protection of intellectual property: Used for protecting software, inventions, creative work, or other types of intellectual property during its development process before it gets official protection from the intellectual property laws.
Protection of client information: Used by businesses that have certain confidential information about their clients when sharing this information with the third parties that process this information.
After the litigation settlement: The parties also choose to draft the NDA to protect the details of their litigation settlement agreement.

West Virginia Non-Disclosure Agreement FAQ

Yes, the NDA is a legally binding document in West Virginia. It becomes legally binding the moment all the parties that take on the confidentiality obligation sign it.
No, the West Virginia 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 if they want to provide an additional level of authentication for the document.
Yes, you can always decide to decline an NDA in West Virginia. However, you should keep in mind that this action might jeopardize the relationship between you and the party issuing the NDA.