This contract tip is about the risks involved when we share confidential information with third parties.
We usually focus on non-disclosure agreement terms as the way to mitigate risks associated with disclosure.
But there are a lot of other potential risks not covered by the NDA. These other risks arise from the act of disclosing this particular information to this particular person or company.
Here are four disclosure risks to keep in mind:
1. Antitrust and competition - These laws restrict competitors from discussing pricing and agreeing to limits on how they do business. Just having those discussions may cross the line.
2. Privacy and confidentiality - Before you worry about what our counterparty will do with the information you share, you need to make sure you can share it. Was any of the information shared with you by your customer or contract counterparties? If so, do you have the right to share it? You also need to consider whether privacy laws further restrict what you can do with the information you have.
3. Export compliance - Export law restrictions may limit your freedom to disclose technical information to some foreign nationals. In the U.S., there are restrictions from disclosing some types of information to foreign nationals, even if they are working in the U.S. for a U.S. company.
4. Fraud - If you share information with fraudulent intent or that purposely misrepresents the facts, just your disclosure puts you at risk.
What other compliance and legal risks exist when sharing information?
