[justinclift]

As an example, about a decade ago I was running an eLearning startup.

A more established eLearning company approached us to discuss potential partnering opportunities, and sent over their NDA. Note - I actually read NDA's and other legal docs before signing, to make sure nothing untoward or unexpected is included.

In the above case, they included non-compete clauses (without any limits) specifically so we couldn't compete with them.

Upon asking their (from memory) CEO "WTF?" he was rude/abrasive and that was the last we heard from them.

At a guess, they were just trying a cheap tactic to get leverage over us in some way.

[cjsawyer]

Fascinating. I guess they’re just arbitrary contracts that can include anything, even if they have a standard name.