Confidential disclosure agreement (CDAs) cover the exchange of proprietary, confidential information between two or more parties. They allow researchers and companies to protect their intellectual and proprietary property by placing a responsibility on the recipient of the information to keep it confidential and to not use the information in an unauthorized manner.
University of Toronto (U of T) professors and faculty members need to ensure that all research agreements are appropriately reviewed and executed by the university, and should understand and abide by the terms of confidentiality agreements regarding the receipt or sharing of confidential information.
Following the execution of the research agreement, all U of T project participants will be expected to complete a Confidential Information & Intellectual Property (“CIIP”) Agreement.
All research-related confidential disclosure agreements are reviewed by the Innovations & Partnerships Office (IPO) to ensure they comply with U of T policies before they are sent to the third party. Only designated authorized signatories of the University can sign on behalf of the University.
U of T faculty members and professors should:
- Log into the My Research (MR) system using your UTORid
- Select the Non-Funded Agreements option in the menu and then Create Agreement
- Select Confidential Disclosure Agreement from the list of non-funded agreement types
- Complete and submit the online form to initiate the process towards a completed CDA
Third parties seeking a CDA or NDA with the university should contact IPO at innovations.partnerships@utoronto.ca and provide the following information.
- Name and department of the researcher you are collaborating with
- A list of all parties involved
- Your complete contact information
- Description of the confidential information to be exchanged
- Relevant important deadlines
- One Way Confidentiality Agreement (if one party is providing information)
- Mutual Confidentiality Agreement (if both parties are exchanging information)
- Confidential Information & Intellectual Property (“CIIP”) Agreement (to assist the researcher in ensuring all project participants are aware of the terms regarding the use of confidential information
- Assist with confidential disclosure agreements regarding research collaboration or innovation
- Provide advice to U of T faculty and staff regarding the terms of the agreement
- Negotiate the terms with third parties
- Finalize agreements and help obtain all necessary University signatures
Staff
General Inquiries: Innovations & Partnerships Office
