Is a contract itself protected intellectual property?

I've heard of lawyers who have tried to copyright their legal documents and make them proprietary, and as far as I know, none have succeeded, and if lawyers can't protect something, it's probably a good bet that it's safe to use it.

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.

While I agree with the first answer that, as a practical matter, you probably would have little legal exposure from using a competitor's agreement, I would like to pursue a more detailed analysis of the issue.

First, I know of at least one case (first link below) where a company was able to protect the non-boilerplate provisions of its agreement. Here are a summary of the facts and the holding:
* AFLAC created, with substantial expenditure of personnel time, certain new insurance policies that, it felt, would provide a competitive advantage because of the narrative style used in the policies.
* Defendant insurance companies copied substantial portions of AFLAC's policies for their own use.
* AFLAC sued, alleging copyright infringement.
* The Federal District Court found infringement of the non-boilerplate portions of the policies and enjoined the defendants from selling their infringing policies for the pendency of the suit.

Second, a few years ago I had a client who (before I became its counsel) did just what you are suggesting. Unfortunately, the borrowed agreement was not a good fit for my client's business. The result: Frustrated negotiations with customers and delayed revenue recognition. The second link, below, is to a blog post which, in turn, has a link to a downloadable document that addresses this issue (among others).

Disclaimer: This post does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.