Does Custom Garden Games Sign Confidentiality or Exclusivity Agreements?

Two different agreements get conflated in this conversation, and the difference matters before anything is signed.

A confidentiality agreement stops a factory from disclosing or reusing your design. An exclusivity agreement stops it from producing that design for anyone else. The first is standard practice and we sign it as a matter of routine. The second is a commercial commitment that depends on volume, term and territory, and it is negotiated rather than assumed.

Below is what each covers, what is realistic to ask for, and how to read the terms you are offered.

Why This Comes Up At All

The concern is legitimate. A wooden game is easy to copy: there is no complex tooling to replicate and no proprietary electronics, so once the drawings exist, a factory that wanted to could produce the same product for someone else.

Three things make that more likely in practice:

• The factory does not own the design. If your product is a variation on an existing game, there may be nothing to protect, and a factory knows that.
• The factory outsources part of the work. A trading company or an intermediary that does not control production cannot enforce anything downstream.
• There is no paper trail. Without a signed agreement and a dated record of what was shared, there is nothing to point to later.

What a Confidentiality Agreement Covers

An NDA is the baseline, and it should be signed before drawings or specifications are shared, not after.

• Scope. Which materials are confidential: drawings, CAD files, dimensions, packaging artwork, supplier lists, pricing.
• Obligations. Not to disclose, not to use for any purpose other than the order, and to restrict access internally to people who need it.
• Term. How long the obligation lasts. Three to five years is normal; perpetual terms are hard to enforce and often rejected.
• Exclusions. Information already public, independently developed, or required to be disclosed by law. Every NDA has these, and their absence is a red flag in the other direction.
• Return or destruction. What happens to the files if the project does not proceed.

A mutual NDA is the usual form. If a supplier will only sign a one-way agreement, that is worth noticing.

What an Exclusivity Agreement Covers

Exclusivity is a commercial arrangement, not a legal formality, and it has a price. Three variables define it:

• Territory. A single country, a region such as the EU, or worldwide. Narrower territory is cheaper and easier to grant.
• Term. One year is common for a first arrangement. Longer terms usually require a volume commitment.
• Volume. Exclusivity is normally tied to an annual minimum. If the minimum is not met, the exclusivity lapses.

What that means in practice: exclusivity on a 500-set first order is unlikely, because a factory cannot turn away other buyers for a product line on the strength of one small run. Exclusivity on a committed annual volume is a normal commercial conversation.

What We Will and Will Not Sign

Being specific here is more useful than a promise.

• We will sign a mutual NDA before receiving drawings. We have a standard template and will also review yours.
• We will agree in writing not to reproduce your design for another buyer while the NDA is in force. That is the practical substance of what you are worried about.
• We will discuss territorial exclusivity where there is a volume commitment behind it, and put the territory, term and minimum in writing.
• We will not promise exclusivity on a one-off order, and we will say so rather than sign something we cannot hold to.
• We cannot guarantee against copying by a third party who has seen your product at a trade fair or bought a sample. No factory can, and any supplier who claims otherwise is overpromising.

Terms Worth Reading Carefully

• “Reasonable efforts”. Common and not meaningless, but it is weaker than “shall not”. If non-production matters to you, ask for the stronger wording.
• Remedies. An agreement with no consequence for breach is a statement of intent. Ask what happens if it is broken, and be sceptical of a supplier who offers to cover your legal fees — that is an unusual commitment and worth testing.
• Sub-contracting. If any part of production is subcontracted, the agreement has to bind the subcontractor too, or the protection has a hole in it.
• Design ownership. An NDA protects confidentiality; it does not assign ownership. If you want the tooling and drawings to be yours, that is a separate clause.

Practical Steps Before You Share Anything

• Sign the NDA first, then send the drawing. Not the other way round.
• Send only what is needed for the quotation. A dimensioned sketch is enough to quote; the full CAD file is not.
• Keep a dated record of what was sent to whom.
• Ask which parts of the process are done in-house and which are subcontracted.
• If the design matters commercially, register it where that is possible in your market. An NDA is a contract; a registered design is a right.

Conclusion

Confidentiality is routine and should be signed before anything is shared. Exclusivity is a negotiated commercial term that follows volume, territory and term. Confusing the two leads either to a supplier promising more than they can deliver, or to a buyer paying for protection they did not need.

Send us the design under NDA and we will quote it. If exclusivity matters to your business model, tell us the territory and the volume you expect and we will tell you honestly what is possible.

FAQs

Will you sign an NDA before I share my design?

Yes. We have a standard mutual NDA and will also review yours. It is signed before drawings are shared, not after.

Do you charge for exclusivity?

Exclusivity is normally tied to a volume commitment rather than a separate fee. The territory, term and annual minimum are what determine whether it is workable.

Can I get exclusivity after production has started?

It is possible, and it is easier to negotiate before the first order than after, because the volume history is what the arrangement is based on.

Does an NDA stop someone copying my product?

It creates a contractual claim if the other party misuses your design. It does not prevent a third party who has seen the product elsewhere from copying it. A registered design is the stronger protection where your market allows it.

Is a verbal agreement enough?

No. Put it in writing, with a date and a signature, and keep a copy.