Terms & Conditions

Part A – General Terms relating to the use of the website
Part B – Competition Rules of Entry 

Please read these terms and conditions carefully. It governs our relationship with you in relation to this website and any submissions of ideas, innovations or any other information that you make to us via this website.
We may change these terms and conditions at any time by updating this page.  You should check this page from time to time to review these terms and conditions to ensure you are happy with any changes.  Using or accessing this website indicates your acceptance of these terms and conditions.  If you do not accept these terms and conditions, please do not continue to use this website. 

Information about NHS Innovations North

NHS Innovations North is the NHS Innovation Hub for North East of England.  It a service delivered by RTC North Limited (registered in England No. 2373630, VAT registration No. 927113832) on behalf of the NHS.  The registered office for NHS Innovations North is 1 Hylton Park, Wessington Way, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR5 3HD.

NHS Innovations North is part of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement.  The registered address of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement is Coventry House, University of Warwick Campus, Coventry CV4 7AL. 

RTC North Limited is registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 (Registration Number Z5188247).
The website to which these terms and conditions apply and for which we are responsible is www.nhsinnovationsnorth.org.uk.
 
Your use of this website and our intellectual property rights

We have made this website available to you for your own personal use. We may modify, withdraw or deny access to this website at any time.
 
This website and all the materials contained in it are protected by intellectual property rights, including copyright, and either belong to us or are licensed to us to use. Materials include, but are not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance, graphics and documents on the website, as well as other content such as articles and guides, and tools such as the Bright ideas Tracker online application system.
If you wish to copy, redistribute, republish or otherwise make the materials on this website available to anyone else for a commercial purpose, you will need our consent in writing.

Your innovation assessment and your intellectual property rights

You may share your ideas or innovations or any other information with us so that we may, at our sole discretion, consider such ideas and innovation and assess them for you.  Subject to the confidentiality provisions set out below, we may disclose your ideas and innovations to third parties who may carry out the assessment/evaluation on our behalf or may assist us with such assessment/evaluation. All intellectual property rights in such ideas and innovations submitted to us shall remain unchanged through the use of the Bright Ideas Tracker online application system. 

If you ask NHS Innovations North to assess your ideas/innovation, we aim to respond you in thirty (30) working days, in which time period you grant us a period of exclusivity by agreeing that no third party shall carry out an assessment/evaluation of the same ideas/innovation for you.
 
Our liability to you

These terms and conditions do not exclude our liability (if any) to you for:
•         personal injury or death resulting from our negligence;
•         fraud;
•         any matter which it would be illegal for us to exclude or to attempt to exclude our liability.

Other than our liability as set out above, we will not be liable to you whatsoever (whether in contract, tort - including negligence).  In particular we cannot accept responsibility for loss, loss of profits, loss of business, depletion of goodwill and like loss. 

We do not guarantee that this website will be compatible with all or any hardware and software which you may use.  We do not guarantee that this website will be available all the time or at any specific time.  We reserve the right to withdraw or modify this website at any time. 

The assessment feedback provided to you reflects the opinion of NHS Innovations North only. You are free to take further advice or seek further guidance before taking any action based on the assessment feedback.  We do not make any promise that any ideas or innovations submitted to us will be capable of commercialisation.
 
Confidentiality

We agree not to make or publish any statement relating to, nor to disclose (in whole or in part) to any person, firm, company or organisation any information that you have submitted to us and identified as being of a confidential nature (“Confidential Information”) which we have obtained or received from you, or as set out below. 

We may disclose Confidential Information to: 
•         other NHS bodies;
•         other organisations involved in the assessment of your submissions;
•         their respective employees, agents and sub-contractors;
 
all of whom have a need to know the same for such purpose. Before so disclosing the Confidential Information we shall ensure that they have signed up to a confidentiality agreement in order to protect the Confidential Information by making such bodies/organisations bound by a duty of confidence.  We may use the Confidential Information in connection with assessing your idea but not otherwise or for the benefit of any third party. 

The confidentiality provisions will not apply to the whole or any part of the Confidential Information which is: 
•         lawfully obtained after the disclosure of the Confidential Information free of any duty of confidentiality    otherwise than directly or indirectly from you;
•         already in our possession before being received by us from you;
•         which we can demonstrate is in the public domain other than as a result of a breach of these confidentiality provisions;
•         necessarily disclosed pursuant to a statutory or regulatory obligation; or
•         disclosed with your prior written consent.
 
What information do we collect?

In general, you can use this website without giving us any information.  However, in order to register on the website and use the Bright Ideas Tracker online application system or enter into any competition, we require certain information from you including but not limited to:
 
•         names
•         address
•         telephone numbers
•         email address
 
By registering, you explicitly agree for NHS Innovations North to use the information you provide to assist and improve its business processes, including: 
•         internal record keeping;
•         to improve our services;
•         to follow up in relation to providing an assessment;
•         the carrying out of peer reviews in relation to other projects;
•         processing any competition entries.
 
We will only use the information that we collect about you lawfully in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

How to get copies of or amend the information we have collected

You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998.  A fee will be payable.  If you would like a copy of the information in relation to you, please write to the Registered Office address given above, for the attention of the ‘Director of NHS Innovations North’. You agree to keep your data accurate and up to date and promptly to send us any new or revised personal data.  If you think any information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, please write or e-mail us as soon as possible. We will correct or update any information as soon as possible.
 
Who do we share the information with?

We will not disclose information we keep about you to any third parties except in relation to competitions we run (see Part B for details) and we reserve the right to disclose personal information to:
 
•         any law enforcement agency requesting it in connection with the commission of an offence;
•         comply with applicable laws and lawful government and/or regulatory requests;
•         protect our systems and ourselves; and/or
•         operate our systems properly.
 
Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure.  In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
 
Contracting online

Nothing on this website is intended to be nor should be construed as an offer to enter into a contractual relationship with you or anyone else, except for these terms and conditions which govern the relationship between us in relation to your use of the website and the terms and conditions in relation to the competitions. 
If you make a contract with a third party who is named or referred to on this website, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are comfortable with the terms of that contract and to take legal advice if necessary.
 
Governing Law and Jurisdiction

The formation, existence, construction, performance, validity and all aspects whatsoever of these terms and conditions or of any term of these terms and conditions will be governed by the law of England and Wales.
The English and Welsh courts will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any disputes which may arise out of or in connection with these terms and conditions or use of the website.
 
Part B – Competition Rules of Entry

These are the rules upon which each Entry to the Bright Ideas in Health Awards 2012 shall be subject.

1. INTERPRETATION
In these rules references to:-
“the Competition”  means the Bright Ideas in Health Awards 2012;
“the Prize Money”  means prize money awarded to successful Competition Entrants in the Competition;
“Entry” means an entry in the form prescribed by NHS Innovations North submitted to the Competition by a Competition Entrant;
“Competition Entrant” mean persons entering into this Competition complying with these rules;
“Opening Date” means 9am on 1st July 2011;
"Closing Date" means midnight on 28th April 2012;
“Competition Judges” means the panel of judges selected by NHS Innovations North to review all entries to the Competition and select the best Competition Entrant in each of the Competition categories;
"Website" means the website operated by NHS Innovations North at www.nhsinnovationsnorth.org.uk;
"NHS Innovations North"  means the innovation and intellectual property management service delivered by RTC North Limited (CRN: 2373630) whose registered office is at 1 Hylton Park, Wessington Way, Sunderland SR5 3HD, on behalf of the NHS;

2.         MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPETITION

2.1    The Competition is operated by NHS Innovations North ("the Organisers").
2.2    By entering into the Competition, the Competition Entrant agrees to these Rules of  Entry in full.
2.3    The Organisers reserve the right to extend the Closing Date. If this is the case then details will be posted on the Website.
2.4    The Organisers reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to cancel or suspend the Competition should causes beyond their control corrupt the administration, security or proper participation in the Competition.

3.         QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

3.1     Competition Entrants must
3.1.1  be aged over 18 years and be a UK resident, and
3.1.2  either be employed by an NHS organisation or hold an honorary contract with an NHS organisation located in the North East region; and
3.1.3  not be an employee of either RTC North Limited, and/or any member of the judging panel for the Competition; and
3.1.4  declare any existing sources of funding they are receiving in relation to development and/or commercialization of their Entry; and may be required to provide evidence if so required by the Organisers.

4.         SUBMISSION OF ENTRIES

4.1    Entries submitted to the Competition by Competition Entrants must be submitted in writing on the prescribed application form and sent to NHS Innovations North, 1, Hylton Park, Wessington Way, Sunderland SR5 3HD or submitted online via the Website and received by the Organisers between the Opening Date and the Closing Date.
4.2    Entries that are incomplete, defaced, corrupt, illegible or submitted after the Closing Date will not be accepted into the Competition.
4.3    Proof of posting cannot be accepted as proof of delivery for the purposes of this Competition. All Entries will be sent at the Competition Entrants risk.
4.4    Application forms will not be returned to the Competition Entrant so the Competition Entrant must keep a copy.
4.5     A Competition Entrant may submit more than one Entry to the Competition, but may only submit only one Entry per idea.
4.6     A team may submit an entry to the Competition.
4.7     Competition Entrants must state clearly the purpose and performance of the idea and should also give details of any contributing parties such as the employer or any external consultants or investors.
4.8     Competition Entrants may withdraw submitted Entries at any stage until the Closing Date by notice in writing to the address given in 4.1 above.
4.9     By entering the Competition, Competition Entrants agree to have their name and/or photograph featured in various publicity materials and on the Website, if appropriate.
4.10   The Organisers reserve the right to refuse entry into the Competition for any ideas which have been entered into a previous year’s Competition, unless significant changes to the idea have been made.
4.11   The Competition Entrant represents and warrants that he/she has accurately and truthfully completed the application form and that all details and/or information provided to the Organisers are true and correct.
4.12   The Organisers may at their sole discretion disqualify the Competition Entrant from participation in the Competition if he/she provides or has provided any false, inaccurate or misleading details and/or information, or if he/she has breached these rules.

5.         INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

5.1    The Organisers reserve the right to refuse any Entries where the intellectual property in such Entry
5.1.1  is not or will not be owned or part owned by an NHS Trust whether automatically in accordance with Section 39 of the Patents Act 1977 or by assignment; and
5.1.2  has previously been or is currently licensed to a third party.
5.2    The Competition Entrant warrants that:
            5.2.1     he/she has obtained all necessary permissions and licences from relevant third parties;
            5.2.2     the idea, concept or invention is original and does not infringe any intellectual property rights belonging to any party;
            5.2.3     he/she has not disclosed any details of the Entry to anyone else before submitting it into the Competition, including by publication or publicity by any means, and by submitting it the Competition Entrant confirms that this is the case.
5.3   The Competition Entrant shall indemnify and will keep the Organisers fully indemnified against all actions claims proceedings costs loss or damages and all legal costs or other expenses arising out of any breach of the above warranties or out of any claim by a third party based on any facts which if substantiated would constitute such a breach.

6          PERSONAL DATA

By entering into the Competition, Competition Entrants expressly authorise the Organisers to use personal data collected during the registration process for the purpose of administering the Competition subject to the terms set out above in Part A and the Organisers will be entitled to disclose such information to such parties as they consider necessary to enable participation or the Entry in the Competition including but not limited to the judges.

7.         JUDGING

7.1   Entries into the Competition will be assessed in the first instance by NHS Innovations North for compliance with these rules and suitability before being submitted to the Competition Judges.
7.2   The Organisers will at their sole discretion decide which category the Entry will be placed in.
7.3   The Organisers will short list certain Competition Entrants to go through to a final judging phase. Winners in the categories will be announced by the Organisers at the Awards presentation ceremony on 28 June 1012 and such winners will be selected by the Competition Judges from the shortlist.
7.4   Competition Entrants will be informed by 30th May 2012 whether the Entry has been short listed or not. If the Competition Entrant has not been short listed, the Organisers will not enter into any further correspondence with the Competition Entrant in relation to the Entry.
7.5  Decisions on all matters relating to the Competition will be made by the Competition Judges and where appropriate, the Organisers, and will be final and binding. No discussion on these decisions will be entered into with Competition Entrants prior to conclusion of the Competition.
7.6  Competition Entrants may not contact any of the Competition Judges to discuss the Competition. In the event of such contact being made, immediate disqualification will result.
7.7  No appeals against the decision of the Competition Judges will be accepted. The decision of the judging panel is final.

8.         PRIZE MONEY

8.1  The amount of Prize Money awarded to successful Competition Entrants is at the discretion of the Organisers and is subject to change.
8.2  Prize Money will be awarded at the Competition Judges discretion to those Competition Entrants considered by the Competition Judges to be the leading Entries in a relevant category;
8.3  Unless expressly agreed in writing by either NHS Innovations North, Prize Money will be paid to the NHS Trust employing the Competition Entrant.
8.4  Any Competition Entrant receiving Prize Money shall be fully responsible for any personal or incidental expenses and/or tax liabilities incurred in claiming and using the Prize Money.
8.5  The Organisers reserve the right to withhold any Prize Money or change its terms, conditions and rules without notice.
8.6  Prize Money cannot be deferred or transferred without the prior written consent of NHS Innovations North.
8.7  Prize Money is awarded on the basis that it is to be used solely for the furtherance of the successful idea.
8.8   The award of Prize Money
8.8.1  does not constitute a guarantee of further support from or funding by the Organisers;
8.8.2   does not imply that an idea is necessarily commercially marketable and NHS Innovations North nor is under no obligation to use any idea submitted to the Competition.

9.         GENERAL

9.1  To the extent permissible by law the Organisers will not be liable whether in contract, tort, by statute or otherwise in respect of any loss of profits and/or loss of business for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage arising out of or in connection with the Competition, including without limitation loss of revenue, loss of anticipated savings, loss of business and/or goods, loss of goodwill, loss of use, loss and/or corruption of data and/or other information, resulting from entry into the Competition or acceptance and/or use of the Prize Money.
9.2   Nothing in these rules shall exclude or restrict the Organisers' liability for fraudulent misrepresentation and/or for death or personal injury to the extent that such injury results from their negligence or willful default.
9.3  These rules will be construed in accordance with English law. Any dispute or claim in relation to or in connection with these rules will be decided on the basis of English law by the English courts.
9.4   The Organisers reserve the right to amend these rules at any time.
9.5   These rules do not create or confer any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 enforceable by any person who is not a party to these rules.Contact us Links Sitemap Accessibility Terms and conditions Privacy policy FOI ©2006 A project delivered by RTC North Ltd, Registered in England No 2373630. 1 Hylton Park, Wessington Way, Sunderland, UK, SR5 3HD.