Contract Essentials

Contracts Policy, Procedures, and Forms

• 2501 – BCIT Contracts Policy [PDF]
• 2501 PR1 – Research Contract Review and Approval Process [PDF]
• Applied Research Industry Services Agreement [DOCX]
• Confidentiality Agreements (NDAs)
  • Confidentiality Agreement – Mutual [DOCX]
  • Confidentiality Agreement – One Way BCIT Disclosing [DOCX]
  • Confidentiality Agreement – One Way BCIT Receiving [DOCX]
  • Confidentiality Agreement – Mutual Multi-Party [DOCX]

BCIT follows the principle that BCIT owns the intellectual property arising from BCIT employees conducting contract research. Clients can acquire or license such intellectual property, subject to negotiation with the Institute. Intellectual property that belongs to the client, and is made known to BCIT for the purpose of conducting the project, remains the property of the client.

One of the primary factors contributing to the continuing success of BCIT’s applied research activities has been its employees’ ability to create novel intellectual property. In order to encourage and reward BCIT’s creative researchers, the Institute is establishing an intellectual property policy that provides clients with access to this talent, as well as a royalty-based mechanism for sharing the financial successes that are achieved when the intellectual property created by BCIT employees is utilized.

With a reputation for enabling applications through strategic use of existing and novel technologies, BCIT optimizes and enhances technology to solve clients’ business needs. These improvements often make the difference in achieving success of a product. Participating in that success from an economic standpoint is an important factor in BCIT’s mission as a polytechnic institution.

Clients of BCIT frequently require that information associated with their projects be kept confidential. Facilities and procedures have been put in place to meet our client’s needs. These include segregated, secure, work areas and administrative procedures for handling confidential data belonging to our clients.

BCIT, as a public educational institution, does not enter into contracts which place the institution in a position where it might face unlimited liability. Therefore, all research contracts contain wording that limits or disclaims the liability of BCIT.

There is an increasing tendency for customers to demand that their suppliers give them indemnifications against certain business risks and releases of liability. As a public institution, BCIT will rarely agree to such terms in its contracts.

BCIT welcomes appropriate recognition for accomplishments, but also wishes to avoid having its name used to support inappropriate, exaggerated or unwarranted statements.

Research contracts, therefore, contain a provision that requires clients to appropriately mention BCIT in their public announcements associated with the project, subject to prior BCIT approval of the wording of the announcement or the use of the BCIT marks and logos. Conversely BCIT also recognizes the possible sensitivity of the client to release of its name, and the contracts therefore provide for reciprocal approval of publicity releases.