Information about a person or entity that is nonpublic and is not to be shared or disclosed, i.e. it is kept in confidence or kept secret. If disclosed, the information could reasonably be expected to place the person or the entity at risk of criminal or civil liability, or to be damaging to financial standing, employability, reputation or other interests. It is also known as proprietary information, intellectual property, privileged information, etc., but each of these terms can have slightly different meanings.

(New York, Legal) Consists of information gained during or relating to the representation of a client, whatever its source, that is (a) protected by the attorney-client privilege, (b) likely to be embarrassing or detrimental to the client if disclosed, or (c) information that the client has requested be kept confidential. “Confidential information” does not ordinarily include (i) a lawyer’s legal knowledge or legal research or (ii) information that is generally known in the local community or in the trade, field or profession to which the information relates. NY RPC Rule 1.6. Prior to 2009, a relevant NY Code of Professional Conduct was “DR 40101 [1200.10] Preservation of Confidences and Secrets of a Client”.