Timeline for Is it appropriate for an undergrad student to ask a professor to sign a non-disclosure agreement?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
8 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Sep 11, 2019 at 21:33 | comment | added | a3nm | I would advise pointing out as early as possible in the process that you would require an NDA to be signed. I imagine this could be completely off-limits to some people (it would be to me), and I wouldn't enjoy wasting time for meetings etc if it turns out later that I'll come to nothing because I'm not willing to sign an NDA. | |
| Feb 7, 2016 at 9:42 | comment | added | Jessica B | @aroth I don't agree that there is no academic issue here. If I were to join a business venture with a student I was teaching, I would at the very least need to report it to my boss so they can check whether any precautions need to be taken, eg having someone check over the marking of that student. | |
| Feb 4, 2016 at 14:28 | comment | added | Alnitak | @alfreema every NDA should be mutual, with every clause applying equally to both parties. I wouldn't sign one that wasn't. | |
| Feb 3, 2016 at 15:54 | comment | added | Baard Kopperud | @alfeema I of course understand both the reason and necessity - as well as that funding from commercial interests is necessary (or a necessary evil), and why even a student may think ahead to commercial applications of his studies... Still the idea of both students and professors demanding non-disclosure and non-compete agreements from each other, does to me seem to go against the idea of academia and higher learning - to teach, to nurture, and to advance the knowledge of human kind (and thus better our lives). | |
| Feb 3, 2016 at 6:00 | comment | added | aroth | I think the correct answer is a combination of this answer and Dirk's. There's no academic issue here, it's a purely business one. And in business it's not at all a "bad idea" to require anyone you discuss your IP with to sign an NDA. It's perhaps a bad idea for the professor to agree unconditionally or to give away technical advice for free/without at least insisting upon a mutual NDA. But attempting to get expert technical advice for free isn't a bad idea; it's actually very good business sense and extremely beneficial if you can make it happen. | |
| Feb 2, 2016 at 16:28 | vote | accept | C. Spencer | ||
| Feb 2, 2016 at 14:31 | comment | added | alfreema | I like this answer. I would add that it also sounds like the NDA should be mutual -- meaning don't be surprised if the professor asks you to sign his NDA and/or non-compete regarding his own commercialized intellectual property that you are asking about. | |
| Feb 2, 2016 at 8:49 | history | answered | Stephan Kolassa | CC BY-SA 3.0 |