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Copyright Policy

Last Updated and Effective: August 26, 2025

1. Application

This Intellectual Property Rights Copyright Policy (the “Copyright Policy”) shall apply to any person participating in a HIRC Activity (a “HIRC Participant”) other than a person who is employed by or acting on behalf of a federal or state governmental agency with respect to HIRC’s Activities.  Each Member agrees to the terms of this Copyright Policy as a condition of participating in a HIRC Activity and agrees that any Contributions submitted by their employees or agents are covered by this Copyright Policy.  Each HIRC Participant who is not an employee or agent of a Member agrees to the terms of this Copyright Policy as a condition of participating in a HIRC Activity.

2. Definitions

The following terms, when capitalized, have the following meanings:

“Contribution” shall mean any material that is presented in a recorded or written form (e.g., text, drawings, flowcharts, slide presentations, videos, presentation) in any HIRC Activity but shall not include any software code.

“Contributor” shall mean any person who makes a Contribution to a HIRC Activity.

“Member” shall mean a member of HIRC as that term is defined in the HIRC’s Bylaws.

“HIRC Activity” shall mean any effort of HIRC that relates to HIRC’s mission of improving the resiliency of the healthcare supply chain.   

“HIRC Deliverable” shall mean the compilation of, collective work, joint work or derivative work created by HIRC Participants in a HIRC Activity (e.g., a white paper, blueprint, workflow, recommended practice or any other form of documentation).

“HIRC Participant” shall mean a person participating in a HIRC Activity.

“Sponsor” shall mean a person or entity that is financially supporting a HIRC Participant’s participation in a HIRC Activity or than an employer.

3. Policy

A. No Transfer of Ownership.  Copyright ownership of the original Contribution is not transferred or assigned to HIRC, its Members or any HIRC Participant.  

B. Grant of License.  Each Contributor grants to HIRC and HIRC Participants a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully sublicensable license with worldwide rights to copy, publish, display, distribute, create derivatives works of and otherwise use the Contribution in connection with the development of the HIRC Deliverable for which the Contribution was made, in whole or in part.  The foregoing license shall not be deemed to grant any right under any patent, patent application, or other similar intellectual property right.

C. Contribution.  HIRC holds no duty to publish, use or otherwise disseminate any Contribution.  No information in the Contribution is confidential, and HIRC and HIRC Participants may freely disseminate any information in the Contribution in connection with developing the HIRC Deliverable.

D. HIRC Copyright.  Subject to each Contributor’s continued copyright ownership in their Contributions, HIRC will own the copyright in any HIRC Deliverable and in any works created by HIRC employees or agents.  HIRC will make HIRC Deliverables available without charge to the public in order to maximize the public’s access to HIRC’s work.  HIRC also has the right to create and shall own derivative works that incorporate the HIRC Deliverable’s content derived from the Contribution in any format or media without restriction.  

E. Contributions from Third Parties.  In the event a HIRC Participant desires to make a Contribution that the HIRC Participant knows or suspects is owned by a person other than the HIRC Participant or the Member, the HIRC Participant will so notify the Chair of the HIRC Activity who will work with HIRC to seek permission to use such Contribution.

F. Warranties/Limitation of Liability.  Contributions are provided “AS IS” with no warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement of intellectual property rights. The Contributor and the Contributor’s employer or Sponsor shall not be held liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of profits, business interruption, loss of information, or any other pecuniary loss) arising out of or related to the use of or inability to use the Contribution; provided, however, if the Contributor or the Contributor’s employer or Sponsor is personally aware that the Contribution is subject to a claim of infringement then the Contributor shall notify the HIRC Activity Chair of such fact at the time of the Contribution is made and shall be liable for failure to do so.