To me, I think it's a business decision for freelancers to sign NDAs or not. Like you said, if a freelancer is working to build their portfolio, then they need to seek the clientele that fits. .
I think its more of a personal and business decision regarding NDAs. Though I do agree most are overly punitive at a certain stage of a freelancer's career, I think it also depends on what they trying to accomplish as well.
I think the wider issue is the fairly blanket use of NDAs that are either based on a template or sent from a law firm: in both cases, changes and tweaks are unlikely to occur. Companies can, of course, pass these through their own legal departments who would also deal with the repercussions of any reported breach (real or imagined!).
For individual contractors, they’re an often unnecessary burden. If an NDA is required to even talk about a project, that’s an instant pass from me. 👋
I’ve been in situations where clients won’t even discuss the type of work they want you to do before signing an NDA. I’m not talking about project specifics here or anything that would be considered proprietary, they’re asking you to sign an NDA before they’ll discuss anything to do with the project.
There are situations where that might be appropriate, but they’re extremely rare and specific. Most of the time, it’s an indication to me that the project is going to be a hassle.
It could also be a sign that the client is particularly litigious and that could jeopardise future work with other clients in a similar sector. Does that make sense?
To me, I think it's a business decision for freelancers to sign NDAs or not. Like you said, if a freelancer is working to build their portfolio, then they need to seek the clientele that fits. .
I think its more of a personal and business decision regarding NDAs. Though I do agree most are overly punitive at a certain stage of a freelancer's career, I think it also depends on what they trying to accomplish as well.
Absolutely!
I think the wider issue is the fairly blanket use of NDAs that are either based on a template or sent from a law firm: in both cases, changes and tweaks are unlikely to occur. Companies can, of course, pass these through their own legal departments who would also deal with the repercussions of any reported breach (real or imagined!).
For individual contractors, they’re an often unnecessary burden. If an NDA is required to even talk about a project, that’s an instant pass from me. 👋
May I ask how come? Is it because it makes you feel the project is off the wrong foot?
I’ve been in situations where clients won’t even discuss the type of work they want you to do before signing an NDA. I’m not talking about project specifics here or anything that would be considered proprietary, they’re asking you to sign an NDA before they’ll discuss anything to do with the project.
There are situations where that might be appropriate, but they’re extremely rare and specific. Most of the time, it’s an indication to me that the project is going to be a hassle.
It could also be a sign that the client is particularly litigious and that could jeopardise future work with other clients in a similar sector. Does that make sense?
This is very interesting and I can see your pov here.