Information NDAs cannot protect

NDAs and the SuperNDA only protect "confidential information", i.e. information that is secret. If your information is publicly available, don't ask the recipient to sign a NDA / SuperNDA.

For example, if:

• you see a wonderful widget while on holiday;
• which widget you are sure that XYZCompany in your country is not aware of;
• which widget you think XYZCompany will be interested in should you bring this to the company's attention; and
• you get XYZCompany to sign a NDA or SuperNDA to ensure that, should the company adopt the widget, you can secure a "royalty" or other compensation from the company,

you are wasting your time. Even though XYZCompany may not be aware of the widget, the widget is not "secret". So, no court will enforce related obligations of confidentiality accepted by XYZCompany.

Note: The Courts will be reluctant to enforce such a NDA even when the following "exclusion" is omitted from the NDA:

"information that is in the public domain at the date of signing this NDA."

Similarly, the SuperNDA is of little use in such circumstance, as the 12 month worldwide reservation of rights to file patents for the idea only applies to ideas that are "secret" at the time of obtaining the SuperNDA. Since the widget was already publicly available somewhere in the world, the widget cannot be patented by you. Rather spend the US$99 on a great bottle of wine while on holiday.