It is important when in the early stages of a sale of a business or company or the creation of a new product or invention that you have in place a Confidentiality Agreement or Non-Disclosure Agreement as it is sometimes referred.
The purpose is to protect sensitive information such as customer details, business operations and financial information and Intellectual Property (including copyright, patents, and trade secrets).
In addition to protecting private information the agreements can encompass non-compete, non-solicitation and non-circumvention provisions.