Non-disclosure Non-compete
I just got a 4 page non-disclosure/non-compete agreement from a guy who wants me to look over his deal. This seems a little extreem to me (I'm going to sign it).
Who uses this kind of agreement and do you believe it really helps? For the most part I figure that most of the deals I work won't work without me so I don't worry too much about people going around me. (Has happened a few times, all those guys subsequently went broke in the deal because I had more information/skills than they thought I did).
On occasion I do a "handshake" non-compete (usually in front of a witness) with somebody who brings me a deal, "I promise I won't do this deal without compensating you in some way unless I have your permission to do so." And I honor those agreements. Just the other day I called a guy up and asked if he wanted a piece of a deal he directed me to, and if so how much because it looked like I was getting close to a contract.
This long written non-disclosure/non- compete is the kind of agreement that I always figure to be unenforceable. Bottom line, if somebody goes around and does a deal without you what are you going to do? Sue and spend thousands on a non-compete that their attnys. will find a loophole in? If someone cannot be trusted the document won't make them more trustworthy and the longer the document the more likely it is to have a loophole. If I really wanted a court-room ready non-compete it wouldn't be more than a page long.
So what is the point of all that complexity?
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