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I would vote for cowed. The wording in NDAs seems strict enough to put the Dread of Lawyers into Patton himself.
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+ccardimon=m-s-g -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Gene Kim-Eng
Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2012 12:19 PM
To: TechWR-L
Subject: Re: 2 Concerns with accepting NDAs... Re: portfolio docs thatWEREconfidential...
Is there any actual history of large numbers of people whose previous employers have refused their requests to use documents they've prepared for them in portfolios? I've had several past employers and clients who asked me to redact portions of documents (contents of tables and data sheets, specification values, etc.), and from some to delete company names, but in 20 years I have never had one flat out say that I could not use any part of a document. Most just say, "sure, go ahead," and sign on the dotted line when I present them with a letter of permission in which I promise to redact anything they want redacted. And over the years I have worked on some pretty bleeding edge stuff.
I can understand why some people working on DoD projects or the blending instructions for the secret Coca Cola or KFC herbs and spices recipes might have issues getting permission, but am I just lucky, or are a lot of writers so "cowed" by their NDAs that they're just afraid to ask?
Gene Kim-Eng
Monique Semp wrote:
> I think as a group (all us tech writers), we've really been cowed by
> client demands and statements that everything in the world is
> proprietary and confidential. But assuming that contract language
> actually addresses these issues, that permission is obtained for
> posting specific info, that we as writers act responsibly and really
> do take care to not share things that clearly are IP, and that a
> click-through NDA (that's been vetted by one's own legal counsel) is
> used, we really are more than adequately covered.
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