Five subjects is what a charger NDA has to cover, and most of them are not the drawings. Confidentiality is usually signed at the first meeting and forgotten at the point where it matters, which is when the factory is quoting the same platform to a second brand or when a buyer’s tooling is being amortised in public. The agreement is useful when it names the practical subjects rather than the general duty.
Charger manufacturer NDA: what it should cover
Five subjects, and the fifth is usually omitted.
The drawings and the tooling, the bill of materials, the customer list, the price and the volume, and the existence of the programme itself. Each is information that leaves the building through a normal conversation rather than through a theft.
One document, five subjects
Specificity is what makes the agreement usable.
A definition that covers everything the parties discuss is wide, and a definition that names the five subjects is enforceable. Where a dispute arises, the specific list is what allows a piece of information to be identified as covered rather than argued about.
Subject one: the drawings and the tooling
The mechanical design is the most obvious and the least contested.
Enclosure drawings, tool drawings, the moulding parameters and the inspection fixtures. The agreement covers their use, their storage and what happens to them at the end of the programme, which connects the confidentiality term to the tooling register held alongside it.
Subject two: the bill of materials
The component list is where a programme is easiest to copy.
The controller, the magnetics, the output capacitors and their suppliers. A competitor with the same list and the same platform can produce a comparable unit, so the list is treated as confidential rather than as a purchasing detail.
Subject three: the customer list
It operates in both directions, which is why the agreement is mutual.
A factory does not want its brand customers disclosed to another brand; a buyer does not want its supplier relationships disclosed to a competitor. A mutual agreement covers both, and a one-way agreement usually leaves the factory’s customer list unprotected.
Subject four: the price and the volume
Commercial terms leak through ordinary activity.
The unit price, the tooling cost, the amortisation route and the forecast volume. A price shared with a competing brand becomes the reference for the next negotiation, and a volume shared with a component supplier moves the market price.
| Subject | What is covered | How it leaks | Practical control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drawings and tooling | Mechanical design and tool data | Reuse on another programme | A tooling register and named access |
| Bill of materials | Components and their sources | A quotation to a competitor | Marked documents and a distribution list |
| Customer list | Both parties’ relationships | Introductions and references | A mutual confidentiality clause |
| Price and volume | Commercial terms | Renegotiation by comparison | Numbers restricted to named roles |
| The programme itself | Its existence and its timing | Trade shows and references | Written consent before any mention |
What an NDA cannot protect
Three things, and the first is the reason programmes are copied.
Information that is already public, information the factory can show it held before the disclosure, and the general idea of a product category. A confidentiality agreement protects what was disclosed rather than the concept behind it, and the concept is protected by the register of designs or the patent rather than by the agreement.
How long it should last
Two periods, and they differ by subject.
The commercial terms are usually bound for the duration of the relationship plus a short tail, and the technical information for longer, because a drawing remains useful after the relationship ends. One period applied to both is either too short for the design or too long to be reasonable.
What a workable agreement looks like
Four features, and each is practical rather than legal.
A mutual obligation, a named list of subjects, separate periods for commercial and technical information, and a named contact on each side who controls distribution. The last of the four is what makes the other three operate on a working day rather than in a dispute.
How the agreement is administered
An agreement works when someone administers it. The practical controls are a distribution list naming who receives the drawings and the bill of materials, a register recording what was disclosed and when, and a contact on each side who approves a further disclosure.
The register matters most where a design is disputed later, because it establishes what the factory was shown and when. A disclosure that was never recorded is difficult to distinguish from information the factory already held.
The second control is the marking of documents, which tells a reader that a file is confidential without relying on the covering email. The marking also survives forwarding, which the email does not.
Those three cost an afternoon to set up and are what make the clause operate on a working day rather than in a dispute.
FAQ
Should the agreement be mutual?
It normally should, because both parties disclose something of value. A factory discloses its capability, its component sources and its other customers, and a one-way agreement leaves that unprotected. A factory discloses its capability, its component sources and its other customers, and a one-way agreement leaves that unprotected. The clause is mutual rather than a concession, which is why it is signed at the first meeting rather than at the order.
Does an NDA stop the factory making a similar charger?
It does not. It restricts the use of what was disclosed, and a similar product built from different information is outside its scope. The design register and the patent handle the product itself. The design register and the patent handle the product itself, and a similar product built from different information is outside the agreement’s scope. Record what was disclosed, because the two are distinguished by the register.
Is a signed NDA needed before a quotation?
Where the quotation contains the component breakdown or the tooling cost, it should be. A price alone is less sensitive than the list of parts behind it. A price alone is less sensitive than the list of parts behind it, so the agreement is signed before the component breakdown or the tooling cost is shared. Send the breakdown after the agreement is signed.
What happens if the agreement is breached?
The remedy usually follows the damage, which is difficult to quantify for a design. That is why the practical controls, a register and a named distribution list, carry more weight than the clause itself. The practical controls, a register and a named distribution list, carry more weight than the clause because the damage is difficult to quantify. Name the contact on each side who approves a further disclosure.
Next step
Send the programme scope and the information you intend to share to Wecent Group through the contact page. The reply sets out the mutual arrangement and the documents it covers. Related reading: OEM and ODM charger manufacturing, inside the charger factory and charger manufacturing services. External references: World Intellectual Property Organization, UK Intellectual Property Office, United States Patent and Trademark Office, China National Intellectual Property Administration, ICC Commercial Crime Services and BSI standards.
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