More details to this question:
Hi, I am a computer engineer by profession; recently a friend of mine visited me from London seeking a technical advice on the platform which he and his partners are working on. It was an informal talk and I gave him the suggestion and feedback as a friend and pointed out several flaws in the design. But later I got to know that his Business partner wanted me to sign a non-disclosure agreement. I was not comfortable in signing the document and I hope he understood the same and didn't press me to sign the document. After he returned back to London, he sent mean email to sign the form again. Following are my perspective: 1. I am not a beneficiary in this program; neither as a partner nor an employee; in fact I was not even paid for my service 2. The company got a valuable feedback from me for free 3. I never agreed to sign the NDA 4. Moreover,the document in Spanish which I can't understand Please advise me on how I should proceed.
1 ANSWER
William Mack
Generally, you should never sign an agreement you don't understand.
On the other hand, it is not unreasonable for them to ask you to sign a legitimate non-disclosure agreement, since in the course of the conversation your friend may have disclosed material proprietary information about the services or products to be offered by the business. This would be true even if you are not a beneficiary of the program and did not get paid.
However, your friend and his partner should have asked you BEFORE the conversation to sign the agreement. You could have decided then not to engage in the conversation and refuse to sign the agreement. But not to worry - THEY messed up, you did not.
From the facts you have indicated in your question, they can't force you to sign the agreement at this point.
Answered on Nov 26th, 2013 at 9:05 AM