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 the UNO approaches any UNO personnel to disclose or receive confidential information, such UNO personnel shall contact the Office of Sponsored Programs to set up a CDA before taking any actions. If the confidential information is related to clinical trials, please contact our Office of Sponsored Programs.
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