NDA and Drawing Protection for Custom Carts | Doing Metal

Sending a drawing to a factory on the other side of the world is the moment most buyers feel exposure. The instinct is to ask for an NDA, and that is reasonable – but an NDA alone is rarely what protects a product. What protects it is a combination of a signed agreement, a disciplined way of sharing, and a design that is harder to copy than it looks.

What an NDA actually covers

A properly drafted NDA covers the information you disclose: drawings, specifications, photos, quantities, pricing and customer identity. It creates a contractual obligation not to disclose or use that information outside your project, and it gives you a legal route if it is misused.

What it does not do by itself:

• It does not stop a third party from independently designing something similar
• It does not replace registered design or patent protection in your market
• It does not help much if it is never signed, or if it is signed by an entity that is not the one you are dealing with
• It does not prevent casual copying of a simple product that any competent fabricator could reverse engineer from a photograph

Before you send anything

1. Sign the NDA first. Get the signed agreement before the first drawing leaves, and keep a copy with your project file.
2. Confirm the legal entity. The company on the NDA should be the same one on the quotation, bank details and invoice.
3. Decide what is confidential. Marking drawings as confidential is cheap and helps later if there is a dispute.
4. Send the minimum. Give the factory what it needs to quote, not your full product range and customer list.
5. Keep a record. Date, recipient and what was sent. It costs minutes and matters if anything goes wrong.

Sharing discipline that reduces risk

Most leakage on custom projects is not dramatic – it is incremental. These habits close the ordinary gaps:

• Separate the commercial and technical files. Quantities and pricing do not need to be inside the drawing file.
• Use PDF rather than editable CAD for the first rounds where practical, then exchange native files once the relationship is established.
• Do not put customer names on drawings unless the factory needs them for labelling.
• Ask who has access. A drawing that travels through five subcontractors has five disclosure points.
• Agree what happens to tooling and jigs. Tooling paid for by you should be identified as yours in writing.

Design choices that are harder to copy

This is the part most buyers skip. Some products are inherently harder to replicate than others:

• Interface fit. A cart built around your specific totes, machines or equipment is only useful to your operation.
• Brand-finish integration. Colour, logo plates and packaging that only make sense under your brand reduce the resale value of a copy.
• Assembly geometry. A design that only works with your workflow or your tugs is a weak product for anyone else.
• Continuous revision. Products that improve each season leave a copier permanently behind.

None of this replaces legal protection where that is warranted, but it changes the economics of copying, which is usually what matters.

What to agree in writing before production

• Who owns the drawing and any revisions made during engineering
• Whether the factory may show the product in its own marketing or facility photographs
• Who owns tooling, jigs and fixtures, and what happens if production moves
• Whether subcontractors are permitted, and under what confidentiality terms
• How long the obligation runs after the project ends

These points come up on almost every private label programme, and agreeing them early is far easier than raising them after the first shipment.

When a supplier asks to publish your product

Factories want reference photographs; you may not want your product in anyone’s marketing. Both are reasonable. Handle it by deciding your position before the question arises:

• Permission is yours to give or withhold, and it should be given per product rather than implied
• Generic workshop photographs are different from product photographs – you can allow one and not the other
• State your position in the RFQ so there is no awkward request after shipment
• If you allow a case study, agree what detail is omitted: volumes, customer names and pricing should not appear

If you suspect misuse

Act on evidence rather than suspicion. Collect what you have – the signed NDA, dated drawings, what was sent and to whom – then raise it directly and in writing with the supplier before taking any public step. In practice, most apparent copying turns out to be either a similar product developed independently or a photograph used without thought, and both are usually resolved by a direct conversation. Where it is not, the paperwork you kept at the start is what determines your options.

Frequently asked questions

Will you sign our NDA?

Yes, NDAs before drawing exchange are normal and we are used to them. Send yours with the RFQ so it can be handled in the same round as the quotation.

Can we avoid sending a full drawing?

For a first quotation, photos with rough dimensions plus load, route and quantity are often enough. A dimensioned drawing is recommended before production so both sides have a written reference.

Can our product be shown on your website or in factory photos?

Not without permission. Tell us during RFQ if a programme is confidential and we will keep it out of marketing material and case photographs.

Is tooling automatically ours?

Not by default. If you are paying for tooling or it is specific to your product, state ownership in the RFQ and get it confirmed in writing.

Send your NDA and the RFQ together through the contact page – both are handled in the same review.