A confidentiality agreement (CA) (also known as Nondisclosure Agreement) is used when the owner of confidential information plans to disclose that information to another party and wishes the information to remain confidential. By signing a confidentiality agreement, the recipient accepts the obligation not to disclose the confidential information covered by the agreement.
A CA is often desired prior to discussions leading to the development of research proposals and contracts, or the licensing of university-owned intellectual property. College of Engineering faculty and staff routinely enter into non-disclosure agreements with companies and collaborators. An example confidentiality agreement can be found at the link below. Confidentiality agreements are tailored to address a number of specific issues. If you would like a confidentiality agreement generated for your consideration, contact the Engineering Research Institute (engineering related research only please) or the ISU faculty or staff member you are collaborating with on the project.
Note to ISU Faculty and Staff: CAs should be obtained from the OSPA Industry Team by completing the CDA questionnaire at http://apps.ospa.iastate.edu/cda/form.php. OSPA creates a CA that is tailored to each specific situation, and wording does change occasionally, so it is important that you request a CA from OSPA each time there is a need for one.