Entryway of the Law

In article, “Let’s keep this between you and me, all right?” I already mentioned nondisclosure agreements. In some other articles, I talked about the thin line that separates law and ethics. This time I’d like to unite the two topics.

In Volume 16 (April) of Network Computing I read a tiny news-story “Apple Bites Back”. This article essentially tells a story of a college grad that violated the agreement by distributing copies of Apple’s beta software. He didn’t get any jail time, but I’m sure he paid dearly for his indecent behavior. Just as I argued in my previous articles- when you go too far in behaving unethically, you bound to do something illegal. This story proves my point once again.

In fact, as I see it, NDA (nondisclosure agreement) is that separating (or if you want- bounding) line between law and ethics (and vice versa). When you don’t keep a secret you promised not to disclose, you are behaving indecent, but if you promised it on paper, you are also behaving illegally. Nondisclosure agreement is one of the “waiting rooms” of the law. It covers legal aspects as well as ethical.