Discussion:
What is the name of your state?I have developed a product for my retail store and is looking to manufacture in China. My design has been submitted for copyrighting which can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months.
Before going into production with my products, i would like to get quotes from several manufacturers in China to see what my production costs will be. However, many of the Manufacturers need the "actual" design before giving me a quote. I want them to sign off on a "Non-Disclosure" agreement before submitting my designs, because many of them serve large retailers like Walmart, Target, Kmart...
Is the non-disclosure agreement even enforceable overseas. I would hate to see them copy my design and see it on Kmart, walmart, or target shelves.
Thanks
Answer:
What is the name of your state?I have developed a product for my retail store and is looking to manufacture in China. My design has been submitted for copyrighting which can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months.
Before going into production with my products, i would like to get quotes from several manufacturers in China to see what my production costs will be. However, many of the Manufacturers need the "actual" design before giving me a quote. I want them to sign off on a "Non-Disclosure" agreement before submitting my designs, because many of them serve large retailers like Walmart, Target, Kmart...
Is the non-disclosure agreement even enforceable overseas. I would hate to see them copy my design and see it on Kmart, walmart, or target shelves.
Thanks This is a tricky area. A U.S. nondisclosure may or may not be enforceable overseas -- the real problem is if a Chinese company signs the nondisclosure, chances are you would have to sue them in China under Chinese law if they breached the contract. Now, if the Chinese company has a subsidiary or other assets in the U.S., maybe you could sue them in the U.S., but when you are dealing with cross-border stuff, it gets pretty complicated.
Your best bet is to talk with an attorney who has international IP experience, particularly in China. As you may know, historically China has not been at the forefront of protecting the IP rights of foreigners (that's an understatement!), so even with the help of an attorney, you might not get the level of protection you really want, unless the company has a U.S. subsidiary that you could potentially enforce the agreement upon in the U.S. courts.
Thast said, there are a number of Chinese companies that are reaching out to U.S. inventors and developers -- you may want to search Google for inventor or developer forums, and find out who others have dealt with and what experience they've had with the various companies. It might just be that, rather than an unenforceable NDA, you are better off spending the time researching a company that is less likely to steal your IP, and take a chance on them.