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barry-martin
Community Member

Upload project files

Hello,I joined Upwork last year and completed one project. Shortly thereafter, I became inactive on Upwork while I upgraded my statistical software and took time to learn a new statistical technique. I became active again on Upwork about last November, submitting proposals. I have submitted I think about 25 proposals without luck so far.I have questions about the facility to upload project files to support proposals. For the one job I did, I had to sign a non disclosure agreement. So is it usual for jobs that freelancers do, for them to be unencumbered by non disclosure agreements? Secondly, am I correct in assuming that the non disclosure agreement I entered into prevents me from letting a prospective client see the work I have done?

 

I hope someone can answer these questions,

Regards,

Barry Martin

4 REPLIES 4
prestonhunter
Community Member

re: "For the one job I did, I had to sign a non disclosure agreement. So is it usual for jobs that freelancers do, for them to be unencumbered by non disclosure agreements?"

 

Whenever you work on an Upwork contract, there is a standard contract agreement between freelancer and client. Called the "Optional Service Contract Terms", this includes some "non-disclosure" elements - basically respecting a client's privacy and their data. There is nothing unusual there. It is just what you would do anyway as a professional.

 

Screen Shot 2019-02-17 at 7.04.04 PM.png

 

HOWEVER: It is POSSIBLE and PERMISSIBLE for clients to ask freelancers to sign a non-disclosure agreement of their own. There's nothing particularly unusual about this. I have signed many of these.

 

My advice: Read them. Make sure there's nothing weird in them. Then sign and return them if that's what the client asks. But don't fret about them.

 

Most clients have not read and never will read the non-disclosure agreements they ask you to sign. Most of them ask you to sign them because somebody in legal told them to ask people to sign them.

 

re: "Secondly, am I correct in assuming that the non disclosure agreement I entered into prevents me from letting a prospective client see the work I have done?"

 

Not necessarily. When you work for a client, the work belongs to the client. But you may ask the client for permission to feature the work in your portfolio.

OK, I did think that their getting me to sign this document was a pro forma
exercise. I infer from your response that the experience I had, of a client
asking for their own non disclosure agreement to be signed, is not usual.
My second inference is that freelancers typically will share project files
notwithstanding the standard Upwork contract terms you refer to. Thirdly, I
infer that there is theoretically legal jeopardy if reports etc for one
client with its own non disclosure agreement are subsequently shared with
other Upwork clients as examples of the freelancer's skills. The risk of
the original client caring about this is however very low and sharing is
probably done quite a lot. Have I understood correctly?

BM.
yeasir_arafat_13
Community Member

Barry,
I think yoy should go through the NDA and if your client has not mentioned any restrictions regarding publishing your job details on portfolio, then I think you can add it on your portfolio.


Yeasir A wrote:
Barry,
I think yoy should go through the NDA and if your client has not mentioned any restrictions regarding publishing your job details on portfolio, then I think you can add it on your portfolio.

wrong again.

 

Unless you have actual permission from the client, you can not publish (use on a portfolio or otherwise) anything you were paid for in full on Upwork. (Unless you and the client made a different arrangement initially)

It is owned by the client. You categorically can not publish stuff that is owned by someone else.

 

 

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