When I discuss apps on iPhone J.D., I try to focus on apps that attorneys would find useful. Today, however, I want to instead discuss an app that attorneys themselves won't use but should know about because it is an app that provides an alternative to hiring an attorney. The app is iNDA.
iNDA is a simple app that contains the text of a standard non-disclosure agreement (NDA). In short, you enter the names of the two parties, the person receiving the confidential information signs on the iPhone screen, and then the app e-mails everyone an agreement. The goal is to make it quick and easy for a person with a good idea to be able to share the idea with someone else while maintaining confidentiality.
When you first start the app, you are prompted to enter the identity of the disclosing party, something you only have to do once (although you can always change it if you need to do so). Then, whenever you encounter someone with whom you want to have an NDA, you fire up this app and have that person enter their information.
The app will display a PDF file on the screen containing a two page NDA. If the signee agrees with the terms of the NDA, the next screen presents a place for the signee to use a finger to enter a signature. In the below example, I signed in portrait mode, but the app also lets you turn the iPhone on its side to that the person can sign in landscape mode.
Finally, the app displays the final NDA, including the signatures of the signee. Tap the e-mail button at the bottom right, and the app will e-mail the signed PDF copy to both the disclosing party and the signee. Here is what the PDF looks like, but note that I have purposely blurred the text out of respect for the work product of the author of this app. When you use the actual app, the text is legible, and like any PDF file can be enlarged (or the iPhone can be turned to landscape mode) to make it even easier to read.
The app also adds a copy of this signed NDA to a list in the app so that you can easily review it or e-mail it in the future.
The developer tells me that he tried to make an easy to use app that takes advantage of the portable nature of the iPhone. He said: "People often have informal meeting where they would like to discuss ideas with colleagues, friends, or prospective employees. We want to promote these meetings by giving people legal protection available to them at all times." He also compared this app to the Time Machine backup technology in Mac OS X in that it is easy to use, quick to set up, and covers most use cases and therefore actually gets used, whereas without it, perhaps nothing would be used and there would be no protection at all.
Of course, the ease of use and simplicity has a price. For example, it is impossible to change the terms of the NDA, so if the signee insists on any extra provisions, or if disclosing party wants to add any additional protections, this app cannot handle that. Moreover, the app only provides for a signature from the signee, so even if the disclosing party wants to sign, that cannot be done.
The app asserts that the documents are "legally binding and are fully compliant with the 2000 U.S. Electronic Signatures in Global and Natinol Commerce Act (ESIGN) and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA)." I have not myself analyzed whether the NDA created by this app is legally binding under the laws of any state or country. I don't mean to imply that it isn't; I just don't know and I don't provide legal advice on this website. The developer, who is not an attorney, tells me that he hired an attorney to draft the NDA.
I am intrigued by iNDA because it is a preview of what is yet to come for the iPhone. Indeed, the developer of this app told me that he hopes to create similar apps in the future that cover other types of contracts. There are, of course, entire industries that have grown up around the idea of putting the law in the hands of consumers without needing to hire an attorney, first through books and then through software and online efforts. For example, Nolo sells on its website forms for a will, living trust, corporation, lease, promissory note, etc. I presume it would be easy for Nolo to convert some of these products into iPhone apps, and indeed, Nolo already has one iPhone app, the excellent Nolo's Plain English Law Dictionary which I reviewed a few months ago.
Click here to get iNDA ($4.99):