NVIDIA Looks to Gag Journalists with Multi-Year Blanket NDAs

humbug · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:11

Its really quite simple:

nVidia: we are going to restart GPP, this is confidential information.

Under this new NDA no one can talk about it without landing themselves in legal hot water. no one.

Gregster · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:13

But but but, NVidia and pretty much any company (including AMD) will have a very similar NDA. There is nothing new there or anything worthy of getting upset over. If you are given a product for reviewing, don't break the NDA and it is that simple. Anyone like me who has a job would also be signing a contract, which is similar to an NDA and there is wordings around said contract that prohibits you from saying this or that about this or that.

If reviewers don't like it, don't sign it. And be like the rest of us and buy your product and see what is what from there.

People here who are reading what they like out of it are pathetic!

Edit:

Just to add, I love me some banter but some here are beyond being funny.

jigger · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:15

humbug said:
It doesn't, it covers anything in the future nVidia deem confidential information, the reason board partners and HardOCP was able to talk about GPP was because GPP was not specifically covered by any existing NDA, a lawyer may not have passed an NDA for GPP because of the potentially illegal nature of it.

Under this new NDA nVidia have injected a clause that effectively bypasses those checks, they are able to enforce it under anything they deem "confidential information"

Pretty much.

Jerno: Hey fake fat fermi guy (Tom Patterson IIRC) Those review cards you sent are boosting to 3000Mhz and the average TDP is 400watt which falls out of spec.

Fake fat fermi guy: Yeah we just did that to give an unrealistic impression of the GTX1180. The retail cards will be a lot slower. BTW The TDP and clockspeed of the review cards are confidential. You have to quote the official figures.

ICDP · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:17

Let me see, believe respected Tech journalists at HardOCP, who after all were the only tech site with balls to expose GPP... or believe the Nvidia zealots who are engaging in whataboutery on this thread. It's just so hard, I need to go lie down and think about this before I decide! :rolleyes:

I genuinely hope any of the people stating this is standard NDA stuff never ever get caught out by this kind of crap in real life. As Kyle at HardOCP said, you can tell instantly any tech site who signed and bent over for Nvidia on this.

LePhuronn · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:22

humbug said:
I think a lot of people are missing a crucial point in this...the NDA has a clause in it where anything they deem 'confidential information' then falls under NDA...

This clause jumped out at me, but alas with the signal-to-noise ratio of posts here my direct question about this to D.P. was lost it seems. He does say he sees multiple NDAs a day after all.

Ultimately, despite the bickering and crossed-wires on here, the point in question is this little phrasing which seems to state that Nvidia can, at any time, claim any piece of information is confidential and is then automatically bolted onto existing NDAs.

It's scope for a pre-emptive gagging order at any given time, and that's not good.

B1gbeard · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:23

Gregster said:
But but but, NVidia and pretty much any company (including AMD) will have a very similar NDA. There is nothing new there or anything worthy of getting upset over. If you are given a product for reviewing, don't break the NDA and it is that simple. Anyone like me who has a job would also be signing a contract, which is similar to an NDA and there is wordings around said contract that prohibits you from saying this or that about this or that.

If reviewers don't like it, don't sign it. And be like the rest of us and buy your product and see what is what from there.

People here who are reading what they like out of it are pathetic!

Edit:

Just to add, I love me some banter but some here are beyond being funny.

If just the same old anti Intel/Nvidia narrative from the same few people that pretty much stinks up the forums.

The thing is is that so many people cover hardware on the internet that to think that Nvidia can hide anything from people by getting some journo's to sign this NDA is laughable. Someone somewhere, out of the many many smaller tech reviewers who won't sign, will find the problem and cover it.

Gregster · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:28

B1gbeard said:
If just the same old anti Intel/Nvidia narrative from the same few people that pretty much stinks up the forums.

The thing is is that so many people cover hardware on the internet that to think that Nvidia can hide anything from people by getting some journo's to sign this NDA is laughable. Someone somewhere, out of the many many smaller tech reviewers who won't sign, will find the problem and cover it.

So much of it going on lately, it is beyond silly. Haters gonna hate!

ICDP · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:29

B1gbeard said:
If just the same old anti Intel/Nvidia narrative from the same few people that pretty much stinks up the forums.

The thing is is that so many people cover hardware on the internet that to think that Nvidia can hide anything from people by getting some journo's to sign this NDA is laughable. Someone somewhere, out of the many many smaller tech reviewers who won't sign, will find the problem and cover it.

It was not people on this forum who highlighted this NDA, it was Heise.de and subsequently HardOCP. Both of which are respected tech sites and both of which claimed (rightly) that this type of NDA is atypical and is an attempt to downgrade the tech press to "marketing tools".

But yeah, you keep believing the Nvidia hype there bud!.

P.S. why was Intel brought into this with your post? More whatabouttery, or deflection maybe?

jigger · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:30

B1gbeard said:
If just the same old anti Intel/Nvidia narrative from the same few people that pretty much stinks up the forums.

The thing is is that so many people cover hardware on the internet that to think that Nvidia can hide anything from people by getting some journo's to sign this NDA is laughable. Someone somewhere, out of the many many smaller tech reviewers who won't sign, will find the problem and cover it.

Just let Nvidia take out the tech press. It's all ok, everything is fine, nothing to see here, move along. I like this kind of thinking.

humbug · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:33

Look this isn't going to work anyway.

The only reason Kyle knew about the GPP is because AMD put them onto it, of course AMD will always know what nVidia are doing that affects them because, well it affects them.

Not every reviewer is signing this NDA, some of them can see what's wrong with it which is why they published it, Kyle was probably not even given that opportunity.

So if nVidia try anything like this again of course AMD will know about it and they will just give those who have not signed this NDA the scoop and it'll be all over the internets again.

B1gbeard · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:34

ICDP said:
Utter nonsense post. It was not people on this forum who highlighted this NDA, it was Heise.de and subsequently HardOCP. Both of which are respected tech sites and both of which claimed (rightly) that this type of NDA is atypical and is an attempt to downgrade the tech press to "marketing tools".

But yeah, you keep believing the Nvidia hype there bud!.

I never said it was someone on this Forum who highlighted it. I said it's the same people spreading their anti agenda in this thread. Which they are. You could make a post about Intel or Nvidia saving the whales and someone here would find something wrong with it.

B1gbeard · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:36

jigger said:
Just let Nvidia take out the tech press. It's all ok, everything is fine, nothing to see here, move along. I like this kind of thinking.

If that's what you took away from the post then I think it says more about you than it does about me. Even were this NDA some gestapoesque piece Nvidia still couldn't hide stuff and I am sure they know it. You just want it to be a bad thing because its not AMD.

jigger · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:38

B1gbeard said:
I never said it was someone on this Forum who highlighted it. I said it's the same people spreading their anti agenda in this thread. Which they are. You could make a post about Intel or Nvidia saving the whales and someone here would find something wrong with it.

Totally agree. All OcUK users should also be under the Nvidia focus group NDA.

humbug · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:44

LePhuronn said:
This clause jumped out at me, but alas with the signal-to-noise ratio of posts here my direct question about this to D.P. was lost it seems. He does say he sees multiple NDAs a day after all.

Ultimately, despite the bickering and crossed-wires on here, the point in question is this little phrasing which seems to state that Nvidia can, at any time, claim any piece of information is confidential and is then automatically bolted onto existing NDAs.

It's scope for a pre-emptive gagging order at any given time, and that's not good.

D.P makes a lot of claims that suit his arguments.

Anyway... as i said its not going to work, these things never do because you cannot silence everyone and it only takes one to be none conformist.

Personally i find this interesting, far more than threatening, it isn't, i find this interestingly indicative of something becoming unhinged, its a curious popcorn moment.

nVidia are loosing it.

jigger · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:44

B1gbeard said:
If that's what you took away from the post then I think it says more about you than it does about me. Even were this NDA some gestapoesque piece Nvidia still couldn't hide stuff and I am sure they know it. You just want it to be a bad thing because its not AMD.

Well it seems Nvidia think they can to the point of banking on it pretty heavily.

My biggest question is why try and pull these stunts? what's wrong with letting products be judged on merit? is the next chip from Nvidia rubbish.

B1gbeard · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:57

jigger said:
Well it seems Nvidia think they can to the point of banking on it pretty heavily.

My biggest question is why try and pull these stunts? what's wrong with letting products be judged on merit? is the next chip from Nvidia rubbish.

I'm being blase about it because I don't think it means anything in the real world. So this might stop the big journo's saying some things but someone will know who isn't gagged and then we will all know. I don't think the purpose of this NDA is what some are claiming but it also won't work. Someone will know.

I think we also have to ask why this NDA and not others? Was any fuss made about the last AMD NDA changes? We don't know what's in it. This is being pushed by someone who has a beef with Nvidia.

Gerard · 27 Jun 2018 at 13:57

D.P. said:
I know why, it is fashionable to bash nvidia for no reason what so ever. Nvidia do enough things wrong that people should really stick the actual issues rather than making things up. But then brand allegiance is strangely powerful for some people.

You talking about brand allegiance lol

humbug · 27 Jun 2018 at 14:00

jigger said:
Well it seems Nvidia think they can to the point of banking on it pretty heavily.

My biggest question is why try and pull these stunts? what's wrong with letting products be judged on merit? is the next chip from Nvidia rubbish.

Jens is sociopathic, you may think i'm trying to upset nVidia fans but actually its a trait a lot of successful CEO's share.

nVidia have got to the stage where there is almost nothing left to gain, to a sociopath this is a problem because his fix of one-upmanship over the other guys is becoming harder and harder to come by, the harder it becomes to more extreme the things they do to get more success, eventually it gets to the stage were they become completely unhinged and a liability to the company, at that stage one of two things happen, the BOD push them out, or they take the whole company with them spectacularly.

jigger · 27 Jun 2018 at 14:00

B1gbeard said:
I'm being blase about it because I don't think it means anything in the real world. So this might stop the big journo's saying some things but someone will know who isn't gagged and then we will all know. I don't think the purpose of this NDA is what some are claiming but it also won't work. Someone will know.

I think we also have to ask why this NDA and not others? Was any fuss made about the last AMD NDA changes? We don't know what's in it. This is being pushed by someone who has a beef with Nvidia.

Start a thread about AMD's NDA's and let talk about that. If AMD are pulling Nvidia style stunts lets have them over the coals too.

LePhuronn · 27 Jun 2018 at 14:05

jigger said:
is the next chip from Nvidia rubbish.

You ever tried overclocking the non-existent?