Confidential Communications
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Prospective clients sometime express concerns with the confidential nature of inventions and ask A Z Patent to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). While it is absolutely necessary for non-professional laymen and corporations to sign a NDA before an
invention is disclosed to them, it is unnecessary to ask licensed attorneys to do so when the invention is disclosed to attorneys for theprofessional services.
Attorneys,including patent attorneys, are required by law and professional rules to keep all communication with clients confidential.Such communication is not only confidential but also privileged (absolutely protected). Communication protected
by the attorney-client privilege is not discoverable. Moreover, attorneys who have violated this professional rule could be subject to disciplinary actions and civil liabilities. Under a few limited circumstances, law also requires attorneys to disclose confidential information to authorities to prevent future crimes.Non-lawyers, who do not know how to draft around those rules, can potentially create conflict-of-law situations, which may render the NDA unenforceable.
Professional rules and privilege laws are intended to encourage attorneys and clients to exchange information freely. Attorneys and law firms are strictly prohibited from using privileged information for their own benefits. While it is very common for corporations to profit from inventions disclosed by inventors, it is extremely rare for licensed attorneys to attempt to profit from confidential and privileged information acquired during their professional services.
Attorney and client relation is built upon their mutual trust, which is essential to effective representation. Asking attorneys to sign a NDA is more improper than asking doctors to sign a confidential agreement. A request for signing NDA will not only hurt this mutual trust, but also unreasonably question the most fundamental principle of our legal system. For those reasons, A Z
Patent, like any reputable law firms, will not sign NDA even though a small number of attorneys and agents seem to question their own trustworthiness by signing NDAs with their clients
Clients who are willing to disclose their inventions to the firm will likely get more accurate fee quotes. Sometimes, prospective clients who do not disclose enough information to the firm may miss the best deal which is available to the client s.
For more information, please contact the firm
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