Confidentiality clause in a contract (Netherlands/EU)

Question

I have a contract signed at Oct 2016 and valid for one year. It has the following lines:

OBJECTIVE OF THE AGREEMENT

This contract is valid for one year.

Also, it has confidentiality clause:

CONFIDENTIALITY CLAUSE

The Contractor is obliged to keep confidential any data, to which it will have access in relation to the execution hereof.

This is a freelance contract for a private limited company incorporated under the laws of the Czech Republic (in Praha), but at the same time the contract contains the following lines:

All legal relations between the parties shall be governed by Dutch law exclusively, to the complete exclusion of the Vienna Convention of the United Nations on contracts relating to international Sale of Goods trade, of 11 April 1980 (Vienna Sale of Goods Convention)

I don't know why it's so but anyway. I provided some services for another company through this company (sort of consulting agency) and now this contract is finished/invalid a couple of years already. I want to create a CV and include list of the projects (names, maybe screenshots (screenshots are available publicly)) which I worked on, but my old employer says that it will breach the NDA, is that so?

I think, since the contract is finished, confidentiality clause is terminated (because it doesn't contain any other terms there), too, right? Also, I'm almost sure keep confidential any data isn't a best interpretation and maybe it could be illegal.

Answer 1

I want to create a CV file and include list of the projects (names, maybe screenshots (screenshots are available publicly)) which I worked on, but my old employer says that it will breach the NDA, is that so?

Generally speaking, no. Contract law (including Dutch contract law) requires the principle of reasonableness.

Since the publicly available screenshots showcase iOS applications which have been released through AppStore, it is futile for the company to even try prohibiting you to mention in your CV various types of information such as names or screenshots (provided that your disclosure complies with privacy matters pertaining to GDPR, for example). It is absurd for the company to insist on "confidentiality" about items such as screenshots to which the rest of the people already have access.

Even if the NDA still is enforceable, it might cover items such as the source code or details pertaining to the design of the application(s), and only to the extent that disclosure thereof creates an unjustified vulnerability on the company's business. Your question does not reflect an intent --and perhaps not even the possibility-- to disclose critical information, though.