Thinking of disclosing my idea to others - what if I don't have an NDA ageement?

A question many inventors have: if I disclose this invention to my patent lawyer, will they steal my idea?!  Do I need my patent lawyer to sign an NDA agreement before I disclose information to him or her?  And what about disclosing to potential business partners or technical experts?

A patent lawyer is a professional, governed by rules of confidentiality under their profession's codes of conduct, and will therefore have no interest in copying your idea - this is not their business.

A patent lawyer will also provide you with a comprehensive engagement letter, setting out the obligations and the nature of the relationship between you.

What you do need to consider, however, is circumstances where you might look to disclose your idea before pursuing protection, as above.  This may be from discussions with potential investors, where you are looking for initial seed capital or further funding to allow your idea to become a reality.  Here, you are dealing with investors who are often experienced entrepreneurs; as with patent lawyers, sophisticated investors are unlikely to want to 'steal' your idea; however, it may at this stage be good practice to enter in an NDA agreement, ensuring protection of your idea.

A more relevant scenario (as you need to consider that an experienced entrepreneur may be offended by being asked to sign an NDA agreement) will be where you are looking for help to develop your idea, as opposed to funding.  A potential investor is likely only interested in your business plan and whether their investment will be safe and provide a lucrative return; by contrast, where you are looking for a developer, or joint venture partner, with complementary skills to yours, their much closer relationship with the technical aspects of your invention and the wider industry as a whole, might increase the risk of them being able, unfairly, to benefit from your idea, if the commercial relationship between you breaks down.  Here, an NDA agreement setting out what information can be disclosed and, importantly, how that information can be used, is likely to be a sounds investment in protecting your fledgling business.