Securing Trade Secrets for White Paper Clients
By Michael StelznerJohn from Florida called about a white paper project he was working on for the defense department. He was thinking of hiring an independent writer to craft his white paper. However, we was rightfully concerned about keeping his trade secrets private. So he asked me how he could be certain that his ideas do not leak out to his competitors.
I told him I was no substitute for a good attorney, however asking writers to sign non-disclosure agreements is always a good start. I know from my own experience I have been asked to sign NDAs at all junctures of a project—from pre-engagement all the way up to the completion of an assignment.
However, I warned John that there is no way to be absolutely certain his ideas will not be stolen, even after he submitted his white paper to the governmental organization. This is a general risk of doing business today.
If we have an legal folks out there that can comment on this, it would be greatly appreciated. I would also like to hear from freelance writers and how they have assured their client’s privacy.
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July 26th, 2006 at 4:57 pm
From a freelance writing perspective I always encourage NDAs because it protects both the client and yourself. I’ve always signed them as well.
July 26th, 2006 at 5:46 pm
Having been an Internet business strategist during the .com enthusiasm a few years back i was often asked to sign NDAs.
My experience was that the ideas and business models were often not as original or valuable as the client thought.
Is that the same in the White Paper industry?
I just found your site via a comment you left at MarketingProfs Daily Fix - thanks for creating opportunity to be part of world I know little about. It is always a treat to visit other disciplines like yours!
July 27th, 2006 at 6:02 am
Hi Michael;
Considering that white papers are written for nearly all industries, similar to your DOT COM experience, I would agree that most of the ideas behind NDAs lacked originality. In addition, often the work produced for a white paper was for public consumption. Thus, most of the information discussed was really are not private corporate trade secrets.
Thanks for stopping in to say hello!
Mike