Ftrain, by Paul Ford

Jul 25, 2016 · Article · Medium

Podcast #23: The DNA of NDAs

Podcast #23: The DNA of NDAs

Do we need so many NDAs? This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade discuss the proliferation of the non-disclosure agreement in the tech world and beyond, and hammer out what’s really necessary in a business contract. They talk about verbal NDAs and frieNDAs, legalese, a dentist who gives great advice, Paul’s parking spot, and the time Rich sang the Google terms of service in the style of GWAR in front of other people. They also read and debate a listener’s letter on universal basic income.

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Paul: You’d be like, “Oh, hey, we’re doing this thing, and we’re gonna have a spork start-up.” And you’re like, “OK, cool, you guys, that’s, like, the forks that are also spoons?”

Rich: Yeah.

Paul: And they’re like, “Yeah, but before I can tell you more…”

Rich: Yeah, and when you do that, when you decide that the thing you’re about to tell me deserves a cloak of secrecy, right? A veil of secrecy over it. The implication is that what you’re about to tell me is really great, and really valuable. Such that without that document, Paul and I will run and pursue it.

Paul: I’ll just get into the media. I’ll, like, go on the mountaintop and be like —

Rich: “You would not believe what I just heard!”

Paul: “Oh my God, this person is gonna custom embroider your Twitter handle onto their shirt!”

Rich: When I was in law school, there was actually something happening, and this was in the 90s. It was called the plain English movement. And the thinking was that the law shouldn’t be confusing. That it shouldn’t have words like “heretofore” and have all this fancy legalese. It should be readable.

Paul: OK.

Rich: And there were English professors being hired by the law school who were looking —

Paul: Those are the worst people to make something readable, but OK, fine. Fine.

Paul: Here’s my favorite thing in a pitch, is when they show you any diagram that is circular with arrows, like where arrows —

Rich: And it goes endlessly.

Paul: It goes endlessly, because you’re like, “That’s how they’re going to bill me.”

Rich: Yeah. [laughter]

Paul: They’re going to bill me in this circle. We’re going to go around a track and every time we get, like, a quarter way along…

Rich: It’s so strange.

Paul: Someone’s going to ask for $35,000.

A full transcript of this episode is available.

Links

Track Changes is the weekly technology and culture podcast from Postlight, hosted by Paul Ford and Rich Ziade. Coordination, research, and management by Elizabeth Minkel, who also prepared the summary of this episode. Production and editing by Tom Meyers. Podcast logo and design by Matt Quintanilla of Postlight. We record with Paul Ruest and Noriko Okabe at Argot Studios. Listen to more episodes here.

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