FOR RELEASE     #05-093
April 12, 2005

WHITEHORSE - The Department of Highways and Public Works, Information and Communications Technology branch is implementing a new guideline that under certain circumstances will allow Yukon information technology companies to keep the intellectual property rights on custom software developed for the Yukon government.

TThis is a positive step for Yukon's growing Information Technology (IT) sector," Highways and Public Works Minister Glenn Hart said. "The government is enhancing software developers' potential to market and sell the products they create. Essentially, this will facilitate product development in the IT sector by allowing companies to re-use parts of applications they have developed within Yukon government contracts."

The government is not in the business of commercializing software, however the government will retain its right to share its custom software with other jurisdictions.

"Yukon Information Technology Industry Society (YITIS) is looking forward to the opportunities that the new Intellectual Property (IP) guideline will provide," Ken Sylvestre, president of Yukon Information Technology Industry Society said.  "We see this as stimulating a move from providing one-of-a-kind services to providing IT products that can be sold a number of times. This could also expand the export market as these software solutions are used in other jurisdictions."

YITIS worked closely with the government to develop the intellectual property guideline and ownership agreement. The estimated cost of Yukon government custom software development is between $500,000 and $700,000 annually. The value to developers will depend on their ability to market components of their applications to other users.

The right to intellectual property was a priority identified in the Yukon Information Technology Sector Strategy. The Yukon Information Technology Sector Strategy was released in May 2003, and it was developed in partnership with industry, education and government.

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