How BeyondNDA works

Getting started with BeyondNDA couldn’t be simpler.

Step 1.

sign

Step 2.

Sign the Membership Agreement and the Fabric Pledge - handled securely using DocuSign.

approved

Step 3.

Once the agreement and pledge are in effect, we secure it in the blockchain and that completes the registration process.

Step 4.

Enjoy the #NoMoreNDAs World

How does it work?

Instead of each company having thousands of one-to-one NDAs with other companies, BeyondNDA uses modern technology and ancient legal principles to achieve the same legal effect with just one agreement. Here is how it works in more detail:

The Pledge & The Fabric

Each company signs an identical pledge: to protect the other member’s confidential information. We call this the Fabric Pledge. All of the Pledges collectively create the mutual non-disclosure arrangement (the analog to the 1:1 MNDAs companies sign) that is the essence of the effect we’re calling a ‘Fabric’. We’re trying to weave together as many companies as possible into a Fabric of Confidentiality. The Fabric of Confidentiality is balanced and it does not favor the discloser or the recipient. The goal is to simplify and to get as close as possible to a world where companies are able to have baseline expectations of trust and fairness when dealing with each other without needing lawyers and negotiations.

Subsidiaries & Affiliates

When a company enrolls, it chooses whether and to what extent to also enroll its subsidiaries and affiliates. We strongly believe that at the very least all subsidiaries should be enrolled so that companies can interact for ordinary course business discussions without uncertainty as to whether they are dealing with the specific entity that enrolled. Ideally, every company enrolls itself and all of its affiliates. For example, if the company generally operates under a friendly name (say “ACME”) even though people may work for different legal entities (say “ACME Steel, Inc.” and “ACME Cement, Inc.”), then all ACME entities should be enrolled.

The Blockchain & The Roster

BeyondNDA secures each company’s Pledge in a blockchain ledger. The blockchain is cryptographically secure and provides for an immutable ledger. The members-only area of BeyondNDA.com provides members a real-time view of the current membership state of all members. This is called the ‘Roster’ and is another key feature of BeyondNDA.com. Members can also use BeyondNDA.com to audit the actual blockchain ledger to verify a member’s Pledge at any time. The actual, signed PDF of every member’s Pledge is only a few clicks away and is double-authenticated not only by the cryptographic hashes inherent in the blockchain, but also by the electronic signature on the Pledge PDF itself.

Putting it All Together

BeyondNDA’s Fabric of Confidentiality comprises a cryptographically secure record of legal promises stored in the cutting edge blockchain technology. These promises are made the modern way by signing a PDF via DocuSign. The promises can be enforced the old-fashioned way as an express third-party beneficiary. In short, it is as if each member had an NDA with every other member, without needing to sign individual NDAs between members.

BeyondNDA uses Amazon's Quantum Ledger Database (QLDB) to create the Fabric of Confidentiality. The QLDB is a managed ledger database provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and secured by blockchain technology. It is a private blockchain providing an immutable ledger we can use to keep a tamper-proof record of all events that occur. For example, when a company joins the information for the roster is loaded into the blockchain. And if a company updates its information, that is also reflected in the blockchain. Another example is the signed pledge, which is also cryptographically secured in the blockchain to serve as evidence that the pledge was made.

BeyondNDA also utilizes DocuSign, an electronic signature and digital transaction management platform that provides convenience and security. The Membership Agreement and the Fabric Pledge are both signed electronically and secured using DocuSign's proprietary signature verification system.

It’s free to join

Becoming a member is free and we’re committed to keeping it that way for the time being. And if you join while it is free, the benefits of the Fabric of Confidentiality will remain free to you for as long as you remain a member. We do expect at some point to have to start charging companies to join, so don’t delay - sign up now!

Share this great opportunity to join while it is free with your customers, suppliers, and business partners. Tell them to Register Now to go BeyondNDA and help bring about the end of useless NDAs.