NVIDIA NDA & HardOCP - POLL

HardOCP Signs the NVIDIA NDA for 2080 Launch Access?

  • Yes

  • No

Results are only viewable after voting.
Fyi, the only reason it's a 5 year nda is because they don't want to have to get you to sign a new one with every. Single. Disclosure they make to you. Cuts down on the amount of paperwork and legal costs significantly.

This is basically a Master NDA. Seems fair to me. I'm voting yes.
 
Plus, I see a lot of people are mad which is understandable, however it's business, so consider the impact/balance between personal emotion and future business opportunities.
 
I trust your judgment Kyle....

Still, forty-three hundred bucks in nothing to sneeze at ( even in the land of [H] )
 
Kyle, only you guys can assess whether it is worth it or not.

I look at it this way. NVidia has pulled some bone headed moves lately. Do you want your hands tied and not be able to report any other bone headed moves or not? Unless I am out in left field, I think I understand that this blanket NDA is much like a gag order.

I did not vote as I am an outsider looking in and may not be armed with a clear understanding of the ramifications this NDA could have on future reporting and how that impacts your business.
 
Does the NDA grant guaranteed access to review samples for the entire duration of effect?

Or, just thinking out loud here: could you sing the NDA and still get blackballed on review samples (maybe not Turing, but there's always a next card), but now be bound by NDA anyway. Sure, you could still post "speculation", but if you happened to get too close to the truth, they could claim you had some insider info (because, obv, you knew "the truth") and hit you with a lawsuit. Even if they can't win the suit, just the cost of lawyering up gets pretty steep.
 
I personally voted no, but if you feel you are ok with the terms of the NDA, then go ahead. I'll read what you have to say....

However, if you have your doubts or disagree with the NDA then tell them to shove it. Its not worth selling yourself out over for new tech. There will always be new tech.
 
I voted yes, but I respect your decision either way. It's a tough call. I know I'd feel like I'm betraying myself if I had to make this choice after turning it down initially.
 
I voted based on my own thoughts.

Will continue here regardless.

Ultimately Mr Bennett it's up to you but thanks for letting us all know.
 
Multi-year NDA? Multiple years long gag order for launch day GPU samples. Fuck that noise.
 
DPI said:
Obviously they didn't cut him off.
Click to expand...

They didn't exactly contact him to see if he wanted to continue their business relationship soon after the story broke either. The cutoff was Kyle's words, not mine. Kyle had to reach out to them and Nvidia knows they needs all the press to push their new product. That's the only reason why they budged.
 
I've worked in organizations that have had me sign basically lifetime NDAs (and non competes). I kinda feel we are all making a bigger deal of this than what it is on both sides of the argument. Its nvidias lawyers pushing for best protection of the business...
 
I voted no but trust your judgement. That is a significant chunk of change. It would be cool if everyone who voted "no" was willing to through you a couple dollars to help soften the blow.

Also, can you shoot me the e-mail address for nvidia? I'm going to copy your verbage and see if they'll send me one too.
 
No way, I voted no. They have a history of underhanded actions, most recently the GPP debacle. Don't give them the satisfaction of knowing they have someone like you locked down. You're the hero we need, not the one we deserve.

*edit* Put my money where my mouth is, finally ponied up for the patreon.
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't sign it but I do understand what you get in return. As you mentioned, it cost you $4300 that's a lot of money and if it helps you keeping this whole dog and pony show going then I say yes sign it and do what's best for [H].

No matter what you decide I still will come here (several times a day) to read what you post. And F Nvidia anyway I won't be buying any 20xxx cards. I'm waiting on Intel and AMD to come up with something.
 
I cannot choose yes or no without knowing the contents of the NDA. Even if i knew, I dont know enough legalese to provide an opinion.

As a business, i cant easily say no because of gpp and how you were treated, etc. More to consider.

I trust in you Kyle, [H] and the principles you have stood by. If you think it's fair and doesnt hold you back, and allows you to be fair and truthful, go for it. If you dont like or agree with THIS NDA, dont sign it. Simple.

While most [H] readers will be pissed off at nV for what happened and will stick by what you have to say in reviews and not when you say it (early access/early testing), i think for ad dollars, timing is important.

my 3 cents. (put a little more effort than 2 cents worth)

...oh and i wonder if someone replied that was not aware of you or history with [H], making nV back peddle on the offer later lol
 
Tough one, I would say what ever keeps this site going is in my best interest. So if that means signing an NDA to save cash, or crowd funding (I'm in for what little I have atm, just had twins so budget is tight).
 
Hell no! Stick to your guns, I can wait until you guys get the cards you ordered yesterday. Priced so high anyway I think waiting will be fine.
 
I don't see an issue so long as your lawyer doesn't see an issue. I have no problem with people signing NDAs, I've signed them myself for my work. You decide if what they are restricting is acceptable and if it opens you to any liability. If you are ok with it, I'm ok with it.
 
As I get older, the urge to run out and upgrade with day 1 things just does not have the fanfare it used to have. I don't think the [H] model is having day 1 youtube unboxing videos available for the readership. There are many others in the industry that do this. As others have said, you can always sell the cards to forum members once the review is done with whatever method deemed appropriate for the time.

I am here waiting to judge the technology solely on the [H] review. If the review is 2 weeks to a month out, quite frankly, I don't care. If you sign the NDA or not, that is up to you. I just dont want you to sign it based on feeling the urge to have a day 1 review ready.

I am also at a point in my life that I would be willing to pay a fee to read the reviews that you had to pay for the items yourself. No different than pay subscriptions to other news sites. This would just be an on demand fee for the article. I bet $0.50 to read the article could cover the cost rather quickly.
 
Don't Suck Teats



There's more to build up your site and readership than launch day reviews (which are everywhere these days -- is it even worth bothering?) I've had more fun reading your articles comparing performance of past generation cards to current/driver comparisons, and 10 year old PSU reviews than I'll find in a brand new video card review accessible on launch day. I find the reviews here candid, and fair. Having the freedom to say what you will, without an NDA would set a reputable site like yours further apart from the masses.
 
Last edited:
Edit: I changed my vote to no after learning more details and because I care more about quality content from [H] then timely content. If reviews take a couple weeks longer to come than some other sites it's not a big deal to me.
 
Last edited:
Definitely DON'T sign it. Fuck Ngreedia. Sell the cards after reviewing and make sure to let everyone know in your review(s) that you tested the cards the way you wanted to, not the way Nvidia 'suggested' you do.
 
I watched the GamersNexus breakdown of the NDA with a tech lawyer. From his analysis, it seems like a pretty standard agreement.

From a non-legal background, I would have said that the NDA was overreaching and constricting but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Also, at anytime (it seems) you can choose to no longer be under the agreement and back out of it.

I say go for it.
 
I know that this is ultimately a business choice to make. I think that it would be easier for you to do business if Patreon doubled or tripled in size. I'm a contributor myself, and I'm thinking of contributing more. A solid Patreon that's 3 - 5k/month like many other sites would really give [H] a lot of wiggle room.

Ultimately, I vote No, and the reason why is because [H] fulfills a very specific niche for me. To me, it's the last publication, print or otherwise, in the Computer Hardware business that I completely trust to be 100% honest about how they feel. I don't think [H] is always right, but I always know that their opinion is theirs and is not for sale. More importantly, when [H] smells bullshit, they have no problem stirring the pot. It's a net good for an industry that is increasingly sterile and controlled by PR spin.

I know that if you signed an NDA, Kyle and team will still be honest about their opinion. But personally, I don't think that them signing an NDA will add any value to a review, and has the potential to put some limitations on the true value of [H], which is not giving a fuck.

In the words of Kyle, that's my 2 cents...you may need change.
 
I vote yes.

[H]ardOCP is on record more times than I can count printing the truth about a product even if it meant a shit storm of trouble for themselves. [H] integrity cannot be questioned by anyone with intellectual honesty.

Whether or not you think the Nvidia NDA is bad, I think it is important that sites like [H] have access to new cards so they can print the truth and I'd rather Kyle put that $4000 back into the business than on a couple GPU's that he could be getting for free.

Nobody tests GPU's (or any product really) like HardOCP. Nobody else puts them thru the torture tests, the quality tests and gives the honest opinions quite like this joint so I think it's important that they've got plenty of access to those products.
 
Last edited:
Dunnlang said:
I agree that the NDA is not out of bounds based on any other NDA I have personally signed. It does not appear to impact your ability to do creative reviews or your journalistic integrity.

GN did a great video on the NDA, with a lawyer, for anyone who is concerned about it.
Click to expand...
This is what my attorney had to say about that video and the NDA.

If I’m a reporter, I probably would not sign it. I could pick on several elements but basically, it is intended to provide a strong control over work product of the reporters. The definition of confidential information is way too broad. Broadest I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen and drafted and enforced a large number of these. Also, the typical exclusions to confidential information are not provided, but they exist at common law anyway. The 5 year duration of the obligation is just stupid for this type of technology. It’s pretty ridiculous top to bottom.

I don’t really agree with the interviewed attorney. He seems to think it very reasonable and “not that onerous.” I have to wonder what he thinks is. It’s a very heavy-handed way to deal with the media.
 
I vote YES.

I honestly don't think we have enough information about the NDA and how it differs from the past or what the lawyers think. However we know the card will be reviewed fairly. I would personally like if you just got a top end card from MSI or ASUS and put it through it's tests.

I guess you could do both.

Edit: While typing this new information came out from the lawyers. Hah. Go with your gut.
 
I voted yes because I don't want to see [H] having to throw down almost $5k for review samples. I read the NDA and it seems like a cookie cutter agreement to not reveal information that is not made public or use that information against NV. What I would like to see clarified is what they consider confidential info. Not sure if I'm missing something here but if [H] can get $5k worth of review samples, still do a thorough review and provide its readers with that @ zero cost for the cards I say go for it. Not every viewer on this site is patient and will wait for [H]. I want to see Hardforum being at the forefront and to do that we need review samples.
 
I voted yes. Provided you are comfortable with the language in the NDA and that said NDA allows you to give an [H]onest opinion. I have always depended on [H]ard reviews above all others. And having a review ready at launch instead of later date is good for the consumer. No matter the outcome I will always be a fan of this site as long as its core values remain constant.
 
For the ones that think this NDA is somehow fishy or it compromise Kyle's integrity, Gamers Nexus reviewed the NDA with a lawyer and it's fine, it's just to save legal expenses of individual NDAs for every single launch.

And if NVIDIA tries to play dirty I would do the same and anonymously leak or tell someone to leak the info (the same way AMD found out about GPP and reached Kyle). The number of contacts is too much for them to get to the source.

I would sign it
 
After reading Kyle's recent post above, I went and changed my vote to a No.
 
I voted no. If your lawyer is recommending you don't sign then don't sign. As far as the price of the cards, crowdfund it from people in the forums with each person who helped fund it having a chance to win it once your reviews are done.
 
No. You'll make more money doing it on your own, who cares if you are day late.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top