A confidential disclosure agreement (CDA) is a legal contract through which the parties involved in executing the agreement are obligated not to disclose any proprietary information covered under the CDA.
A CDA outlines the scope of the confidential information the parties wish to share with each other for specified purposes. A CDA is also known as a nondisclosure agreement (NDA), confidentiality agreement, or secrecy agreement.
A CDA is established before any industry or external academic contact is made for the disclosure or receipt of confidential information. Similarly, if a company, an academic institution or an individual outside of Jefferson approaches any Jefferson personnel to disclose or receive confidential information, such Jefferson personnel shall contact the Innovation team to set up a CDA before taking any actions. If the confidential information is related to clinical trials, please contact our Office of Research Administration (ORA).
For example, a CDA is needed when a UNO Faculty/Staff/Student:
- Plans to disclose information pertaining to submission (industry, academic collaborator, idea) which has not yet been publicly disclosed
- Is interested in receiving a confidential protocol or study summary on a clinical trial from a potential sponsor
- Is interested in collaborating with a company by receiving the company's proprietary product information and providing feedback on the product