Hiding More Easily in Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal

DND is looking for an urban camoflague design pattern for uniforms.

DND wants to hire HyperStealth Biotechnology Corporation, a company based in British Columbia, to design camouflage patterns for chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) protection suits to be worn in urban environments (specifically Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal).  DND wants to sole source because the company has already done tons of work in this area.  DND is offering to pay just under $25K plus taxes for the patterns.  For that sum, DND is buying the right to use the patterns, but the designer will hold the copyright to said pattern.

From the MERX posting:

TITLE:
Prototype Canadian Urban Environment Pattern

REQUIREMENT:
The Department of National Defence, Defence Research and Development Canada – Suffield, (DRDC-S), AB, has a requirement to develop a Canadian Urban Environment Pattern (CUEPAT) based on the unique requirements of Canada’s three major metropolitan areas, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. The current CBR individual protective equipment (IPE) used by the Canadian military is provided in a woodland or desert camouflage. A camouflage suited to the Canadian urban environment is required when the milatary operates in urban terrain.

SUBSTANTIATION FOR SOLE SOURCING:
The Contractor holds the proprietary right to the advanced fractal algorithms and feed back loop technology to develop non-repeating digital camouflage patterns. HyperStealth Biotechnology Corporation’s design team of Guy Cramer and Timothy R. O’Neill share copyright on approximately 8,000 digital camouflage patterns. Access to this extensive data base for the purposes of developing a new Canadian urban environment camouflage pattern is critical to the success of the project.  All Intellectual Property Rights in the Foreground Information shall belong to the Contractor as soon as they come into existence. There are no alternative sources of supply for this requirement as no other Canadian source exists that has the capability to design and develop digital, non-repeating camouflage patterns using state-of-the-art fractal algorithms and feed back loop technology, with concomitant IP protected access to approximately 8,000 copyrighted patterns that can be used in full support of meeting the requirement.

(….)

OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Contractor owned.

PERIOD OF CONTRACT:
It is anticipated that any contract will be effective from date of contract to March 31, 2010. Contract may result in follow on related work.

ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE:
The estimated budget for this contract is $24,900.00, GST extra.

CONTRACTOR:
HyperStealth Biotechnology Corporation
PO Box 21134 Maple Ridge Square
Maple Ridge, BC V2X 1P7 ….

How long will it take for the anti-military crowd to start painting pictures of “Troops in Canada’s Streets”?  Wait for it…

A bit more information, mostly contracting boilerplate, here (PDF).

Update (1): More from the 16 Nov 09 Ottawa Citizen.