Companies routinely work together, signing stock non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) before collaboration. One challenge is that most company employees just assume that the stock NDA will cover all subsequent activities during such collaboration. But stock NDAs seldom include robust provisions that address common intellectual property (IP) issues that arise from intercompany collaboration. For example, who owns the IP resulting from the collaboration (new IP)?

If your company’s or your client’s NDA does not answer that question or address any of the other following common IP questions, it may be time to update that NDA.

Why Do Robust NDAs Matter?