Definition and Purpose
A Confidential Disclosure Agreement [(CDA), also referred to as non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or secrecy agreement, is a legal agreement between a minimum of two parties which outlines information the parties wish to share with one another for certain evaluation purposes, but wish to restrict from wider use and dissemination. The parties agree not to disclose the non-public information covered by the agreement. CDAs are commonly executed when two parties are considering a relationship/collaboration together and need to understand the other's processes, methods, or technology solely for the purpose of evaluating the potential for a future relationship.
CDAs/NDAs are reviewed by several offices at the University of Pittsburgh. The content and purpose of these agreements will drive which central office will review the language and sign on behalf of the University:
|
PURPOSE OF AGREEMENT |
OFFICE TO REVIEW |
|---|---|
|
Discussions related to research and licensing/commercialization
|
Office of Sponsored Programs and Innovation Institute
Submit for review through MyRA
|
|
Discussions related to licensing/commercialization only
|
Innovation Institute
Contact the assigned Licensing Manager or the Innovation Institute - 412-648-2206 or innovate@pitt.edu
|
|
Discussions related to purchasing equipment and services
|
Purchasing Services
|
|
Other (not research, not purchasing, and not related to licensing/commercialization)
|
Office of University Counsel
412-624-5674
|
Procedure to Initiate OSP Review
- Principal Investigator (PI) creates and submits the request in the MyRA system.
- Upon electronic receipt of a new submission in MyRA, the contracts coordinator will begin initial submission review and will contact the PI and the administrative contact listed in the MyRA submission if any of the required documentation is missing or incomplete. When all of the required documentation has been received, the submission will be assigned to a contracts officer for review and negotiation. Contracts officers are assigned to a constituency of University departments. To find your contracts officer, view the staff Assignments.
- Once the terms have been finalized by the contracts officer, the agreement will be circulated for signature.
- Once the agreement has been fully executed (signed by all parties), a PDF copy will be provided to the PI and to the administrative contact listed in the MyRA submission. The confidential information covered by this CDA may now be disclosed.
Documents Required for Submission*
- Completed submission in MyRA, created and submitted by PI
- Proposed CDA/NDA (as an editable Word document) or request to use Pitt CDA/NDA template
*Subject to sponsor requirements and/or OSP procedure changes.
Template Agreements
- Research Confidentiality Agreement (one-way for University's disclosure of confidential information)
- Mutual Research Confidentiality Agreement (two-way disclosure of confidential information)