Noncompetition Agreement

A noncompetition agreement provides that an employee cannot engage in business activities that compete against the company at which he or she works or worked. Often times companies require employees to sign an agreement regarding confidentiality and assignment of inventions (oftentimes called a Confidential Information and Inventions Assignment Agreement (CIIAA) or Proprietary Information and Inventions Assignment Agreement (PIIAA)), which would include a noncompetition agreement that prevents employees from engaging in such competitive business activities. The prohibition at a bare minimum lasts through the entire employee term of employment, and in some states can legally extend beyond the employee’s term of employment.