What types of contracts can ContractIQ analyze?

ContractIQ analyzes any contract in PDF format — NDAs, SaaS agreements, employment contracts, vendor agreements, leases, service agreements, consulting contracts, and more. The AI extracts key terms regardless of format or language complexity.

How accurate is the AI analysis?

ContractIQ uses state-of-the-art large language models to analyze contracts. While it provides highly accurate extraction of key terms, risk indicators, and obligation tracking, it is designed to augment — not replace — professional legal review for critical agreements.

Is my contract data secure?

Yes. Contract text is processed in real-time and not stored permanently. Analysis results are encrypted at rest. We never share contract data with third parties or use it for model training.

Employment Contract Clauses: A Complete Guide Before You Sign

Employment contracts can run 10-30 pages and bury the most important terms in boilerplate language. The clauses that most affect your career — non-compete restrictions, IP assignment, termination triggers, and equity vesting — are rarely highlighted during the offer process. This guide breaks down every clause that matters and what to negotiate before you accept.

Compensation Clauses: More Complex Than Base Salary

Base salary: Confirm whether it's a fixed annual amount or 'up to' with discretion. Also clarify pay frequency (bi-weekly vs. semi-monthly).

Bonus: Is the bonus discretionary or formula-based? 'Target bonus of 20%' means nothing if it's at management discretion. Push for specific metrics: 'X% of base if [metric] is achieved by [date].'

Equity: Confirm grant date, vesting schedule (4-year with 1-year cliff is standard), acceleration provisions on change of control, exercise price vs. current 409A valuation, and post-termination exercise window (some options expire 90 days post-termination — negotiate 1-2 years).

Signing Bonus Clawback: If your offer includes a signing bonus, verify whether it has a repayment obligation if you leave within 12-24 months. Standard, but the trigger (voluntary vs. any termination) matters significantly.

Intellectual Property Assignment Clause

What it does: Transfers ownership of any intellectual property you create during employment to the company. Most broad IP assignment clauses cover: inventions, discoveries, improvements, software code, designs, and content created while employed.

The risk: Some clauses extend beyond work hours — covering anything created using company resources OR related to the company's business OR related to any research in which you participated. This can capture personal projects, side businesses, and open source contributions.

State law protections: California, Washington, Illinois, Delaware, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Nevada have statutes that protect employee IP created outside work hours on non-company equipment that isn't related to the employer's business.

Protect yourself: Attach a prior inventions schedule to your offer letter listing any IP you created before employment that you intend to keep.

Non-Compete and Restrictive Covenant Clauses

Non-compete: Restricts where you can work after leaving. Enforceability varies dramatically by state. California bans them entirely. Most states enforce 'reasonable' non-competes; courts examine geographic scope, duration, and whether the restriction is necessary to protect a legitimate business interest.

Non-solicitation of clients: Typically 1 year post-employment. Generally more enforceable than non-competes. Watch for broad definitions of 'client' that include companies you've never personally worked with.

Non-solicitation of employees: Prevents you from recruiting former colleagues. Usually 1-2 years. Can be very limiting if you're moving to a startup where team-building is critical.

Garden leave: Some contracts pay your full salary during the non-compete period. If you're being asked to sign a non-compete without garden leave pay, negotiate.

Termination Clauses and Severance

At-will employment: Most US employees are at-will — terminated for any reason or no reason. If your contract says 'at-will,' you have no guaranteed severance unless the contract specifies otherwise.

Definition of Cause: This matters enormously. Broad definitions of Cause (including 'failure to meet performance expectations') can be used to terminate you without severance. Negotiate a narrow definition: only material breach, gross misconduct, or criminal conviction.

Change of Control (Double Trigger): If you have equity, understand whether it accelerates on change of control (single trigger) or only if you're also terminated after acquisition (double trigger). Double trigger is standard; single trigger is a negotiating win.

Severance: If the contract is silent on severance, you may have no entitlement. Negotiate: minimum 3-month severance for employees without cause (escalating with tenure).

Red Flags to Watch For

⚠IP assignment clause with no prior inventions carve-out or exhibit
⚠Non-compete with nationwide geographic scope or duration exceeding 12 months
⚠Broad definition of Cause including 'performance expectations' or 'cultural fit'
⚠Bonus described as 'target' with full management discretion to pay nothing
⚠Equity options with 90-day post-termination exercise window only
⚠Non-solicitation covers all company employees, not just direct reports
⚠No severance provision or severance conditional on signing broad release
⚠Signing bonus clawback triggered by any termination, including without cause
⚠Unilateral right to modify compensation, title, or duties without consent
⚠Mandatory arbitration with company choosing the arbitrator or arbitration rules

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