Nondisclosure Agreements in the Classroom: A Student Entrepreneur’s Refuge or Risk?

Abstract

As the Information Age shapes the way we understand ideas as intellectual property, the notion that students’ideas in the classroom should be protected as a potential asset has increasingly gained attention. Academics and practitioners alike debate how best to address the balance between traditionally open classroom learning and traditionally secretive commercial innovation. In this article, the authors discuss the use of nondisclosure agreements aimed at protecting students’ business ideas. Based on analysis from three relevant perspectives including academic approaches, legal considerations, and ethical dimensions, the authors showwhy a nondisclosure agreement as a protective legal instrument is ineffective, and why instructors would better serve students by appealing to the ethics of information value and mutual responsibility. Pedagogical recommendations as well as an invitation to address this issue as a profession follow.

Protecting Student Intellectual Property in the Entrepreneurial Classroom

“…Fifteen years ago, Katz, Harshman, and Lund Dean (2000) wrote an article exploring the "thorny issues" of protecting student intellectual property (IP) in the entrepreneurial classroom. In their article, "Nondisclosure Agreements in…”

“…Throughout the interview process, it was obvious and evident that he cares deeply about these issues from the student perspective. Fifteen years ago when Katz et al (2000) first explored the moral and ethical issues of how best to protect student ideas, they were a lone voice calling for university policy and faculty to advocate for student's rights. Through Katz's tenacity and perseverance to advocate for student's IP in the entrepreneurial classroom there is now much more consideration and orientation toward the student being the focus in the entrepreneurial process.…”

Consumption, ongoingness and everyday-life embeddedness: Lifestyle experiences of Chinese transient migrants in Chiang Mai, Thailand

“…The “entrepreneur students” in our case study represent Chinese students who are enrolled in higher education in Chiang Mai and concurrently conduct part-time businesses online. This is distinct from the “student entrepreneurs” and “entrepreneurial students” in the literature, which refer to students enrolled in an entrepreneurship course or program and students who are engaged in preparing a business plan for a new or existing growth-oriented business during their school years, as facilitated by their universities (Katz et al, 2000; Ridder and Sijde, 2006).…”

Just a Lemonade Stand An Introduction to Student Entrepreneurship

“…A large group of researchers use the phrase "student entrepreneurs" to refer to students enrolled in an entrepreneurship course or program (Fiet, 2001;Robinson, Huefner, & Hunt 1991). A second group of researchers understands student entrepreneurs as students who are engaged in preparing a business plan for a new or existing growth-oriented business (Katz, Harshman, & Dean, 2000). And a third group views student entrepreneurs as individuals who are actively pursuing academic coursework and are running a company (alone or with others) at the same time (Ridder & Sijde, 2006).…”

“…Students who work with student entrepreneurs on projects may find that the time and effort they spent on the group work was appropriated by their entrepreneurial colleague for his/her business without their permission or knowledge. Though these concerns can be somewhat alleviated by having students sign confidentiality agreements, a large part of the knowledge generated in these projects may be uncodifiable (Katz et al, 2000). In some situations, student entrepreneurs may not even consciously remember that the information they are using in their businesses was developed as part of a group project.…”