Authorize the recipient before moving the file
Confirm identity, role, purpose, destination, disclosure authority and receipt. Encryption does not create an NDA, determine export-control eligibility or authorize disclosure to counsel, a collaborator or a technology-transfer office.
An inventor needs counsel to review a disclosure. The project owner confirms counsel and matter, approves the exact record set, sends the protected file and secret through separate authorized channels, and records receipt.
Run the control in five steps
- 01Confirm the named recipient, role, matter and need to know.
- 02Approve the exact version and disclosure authority.
- 03Choose an institutional transfer route and expiration rule.
- 04Send any secret through a separate authorized channel.
- 05Confirm receipt and close or revoke temporary access.
Preserve the decision trail
Record sender, recipient, role, purpose, authority, item/version, transfer route, secret route, expiry, receipt and exceptions.
Stop and investigate when
- A generic mailbox or personal drive is proposed.
- The recipient cannot be independently verified.
- A password and protected file will travel together.
State what encryption does not prove
Does not replace provider permissions, guaranteed backup, password recovery or enterprise identity management. It also does not determine inventorship, patentability, filing priority, evidentiary weight or disclosure authority. Obtain appropriate counsel.
Invention notebook security questions
Does encryption authorize disclosure?
No. Authorization, contracts and institutional policy are separate.
Should the password be sent with the file?
Use a separate approved channel and document the handoff.
Sources for this decision
Links support specific boundaries and do not imply endorsement.