This Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement legally binds Research Gold to protect your research data, intellectual property, and confidentiality. You can review the full agreement below, download it as a PDF, or sign it electronically.
Between Research Gold (“Company”) and the undersigned (“Client”)
This Non-Disclosure Agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into as of the date of electronic signature below, by and between Research Gold, a research methodology consulting firm located at 6801 Gaylord Pkwy, Frisco, TX 75034, USA (“Company” or “Research Gold”), and the undersigned individual or entity (“Client”). Each may be referred to individually as a “Party” and collectively as the “Parties.”
The Parties wish to engage in a business relationship involving the provision of research methodology, systematic review, meta-analysis, biostatistics consulting, medical manuscript drafting, and related services. The Client will share sensitive research data, manuscripts, and proprietary information with Research Gold. This Agreement establishes binding obligations — particularly on Research Gold — to protect the Client's data, intellectual property, and confidentiality. The Parties agree as follows:
"Confidential Information" means any and all non-public information disclosed by either Party to the other, whether orally, in writing, electronically, or by any other means, including but not limited to: research data, raw datasets, manuscripts, drafts, statistical analyses, study protocols, research questions, PICO frameworks, search strategies, extracted data tables, forest plots, figures, grant proposals, reviewer comments, institutional affiliations, patient-level or anonymized clinical data, financial information, login credentials, and any information designated as confidential. For avoidance of doubt, all materials the Client uploads or shares with Research Gold — including but not limited to datasets, study protocols, manuscripts, and reviewer feedback — are Confidential Information.
Research Gold specifically agrees to: (a) treat all Client data, research materials, manuscripts, and communications as strictly confidential; (b) never share, publish, repurpose, sublicense, or disclose Client materials to any third party — including other clients, academic partners, or affiliated entities — without prior written consent; (c) restrict access to Client materials solely to the assigned project team members who are individually bound by confidentiality obligations at least as protective as this Agreement; (d) never use Client research topics, PICO questions, data, or findings to produce competing or derivative work for any other party; (e) never list, reference, or identify the Client or their institution in any marketing, case study, testimonial, or publication without prior written consent; (f) permanently delete all Client materials from Research Gold systems within thirty (30) days of project completion or upon Client’s written request, whichever comes first, and provide written certification of deletion upon request.
The Client agrees to: (a) treat Research Gold’s proprietary methodologies, internal processes, pricing structures, and team information as confidential; (b) not disclose Research Gold’s internal workflows or proprietary tools to competitors or third parties; (c) use Research Gold’s deliverables and communications solely for the Client’s own research, academic, or institutional purposes.
Research Gold shall implement and maintain appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect Client Confidential Information, including: (a) encryption of data in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256); (b) access controls limiting Client data to authorized team members only; (c) secure cloud infrastructure with SOC 2-compliant hosting providers; (d) regular security audits and access reviews; (e) prohibition of storing Client data on personal devices, unsecured drives, or unauthorized cloud services. In the event of any data breach or unauthorized access affecting Client data, Research Gold shall notify the Client within seventy-two (72) hours of becoming aware of the breach, provide a written incident report, and take immediate remedial action.
All deliverables produced by Research Gold — including but not limited to manuscripts, statistical code, R/Stata/Python scripts, figures, data extraction tables, risk of bias assessments, PRISMA flow diagrams, meta-analysis outputs, response-to-reviewer letters, and grant methodology sections — are the sole and exclusive intellectual property of the Client from the moment of creation. Research Gold retains no ownership, reproduction, reuse, or derivative rights to any Client deliverable. Research Gold shall not incorporate Client deliverables or data into any templates, training materials, AI models, or internal knowledge bases. Research Gold may retain only anonymized, aggregate operational metrics (e.g., average turnaround times) for internal quality improvement, with no identifiable Client data.
For a period of twenty-four (24) months following project completion, Research Gold shall not: (a) use the Client’s specific research topic, PICO question, or unique study design to produce substantially similar work for another party; (b) solicit or approach the Client’s co-investigators, institutional colleagues, or collaborators identified during the engagement to offer competing services on the same research topic. This clause does not restrict Research Gold from accepting unrelated work in the same broad discipline (e.g., accepting another cardiology systematic review does not violate this clause, but producing a review with the same PICO question for a different client would).
Confidential Information does not include information that: (a) is or becomes publicly available through no fault of the Receiving Party; (b) was already known to the Receiving Party prior to disclosure, as documented by written records predating this Agreement; (c) is independently developed by the Receiving Party without use of or reference to the Confidential Information; (d) is rightfully received from a third party without restriction on disclosure; or (e) is required to be disclosed by law, regulation, or court order, provided that the Receiving Party gives the Disclosing Party reasonable prior written notice (minimum 10 business days where legally permissible) to allow the Disclosing Party to seek a protective order.
This Agreement is effective from the date of electronic signature and remains in effect for seven (7) years from the date of the last disclosure of Confidential Information. The obligations of confidentiality, data deletion, intellectual property ownership, and non-compete survive termination for their full stated periods. Either Party may terminate this Agreement with thirty (30) days’ written notice, but termination does not release either Party from obligations regarding Confidential Information already disclosed.
The Parties acknowledge that any breach of this Agreement may cause irreparable harm for which monetary damages alone would be inadequate. In the event of breach: (a) the non-breaching Party shall be entitled to seek equitable relief, including injunction and specific performance, without posting a bond, in addition to any other remedies available at law or in equity; (b) the breaching Party shall be liable for all reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs, and damages incurred by the non-breaching Party; (c) if Research Gold breaches this Agreement, the Client shall additionally be entitled to a full refund of all fees paid for the affected project. Failure to enforce any provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of that provision or any other provision.
Research Gold represents and warrants that: (a) it has the authority to enter into this Agreement and to bind its employees, contractors, and agents to the confidentiality obligations herein; (b) all team members assigned to Client projects have signed individual confidentiality agreements at least as protective as this Agreement; (c) it maintains professional liability insurance adequate to cover potential breaches of this Agreement. This Agreement is pre-authorized and binding on Research Gold upon the Client’s electronic signature below — no separate countersignature by Research Gold is required.
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, United States of America, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. Any dispute arising under this Agreement shall first be subject to good-faith negotiation for a period of thirty (30) days. If unresolved, disputes shall be resolved through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in Collin County, Texas, under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The prevailing Party in any arbitration or litigation shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to confidentiality and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements, understandings, and communications, whether oral or written. This Agreement may not be modified except by a written instrument agreed to by both Parties. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.
Authorized Signatory
Dr. Elena Vasquez, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
Organization
Research Gold LLC
6801 Gaylord Pkwy, Frisco, TX 75034
Signature
Elena Vasquez
Date Signed
January 1, 2026
This agreement is pre-authorized and binding on Research Gold upon the Client's countersignature.
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Electronic signatures are legally binding under the ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001) and UETA.
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Even without a signed NDA, all client information is treated as confidential by default. Our internal policies mirror NDA-level protections for every project. The signed NDA provides you with additional legal recourse.
Questions about this agreement? Contact us at hello@researchgold.org