The Barcoding Facility for Organisms and Tissues of Policy Concern project (BopCo) is coordinated by and based at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and the Royal Museum for Central Africa. All services provided by BopCo and its team members, including but not limited to DNA barcoding, identification, data analysis, consulting and reporting, are subject to the following General Terms & Conditions:
DEFINITIONS:
- BopCo: The Barcoding Facility for Organisms and Tissues of Policy Concern project and its team members;
- Applicant: The individual and the institute, organisation, governmental agency or private company he/she represents and who commissions BopCo to perform an identification of biological material provided by the Applicant;
- Sample(s): Any Sample(s) of biological origin send to BopCo for identification;
- Partner: A third party which is contacted by BopCo to assist with or perform the identification of the Sample(s) send by the Applicant;
- Agreement: A written contract between BopCo and the Applicant containing details on the provided Sample(s), the turnaround time for the identification, and the amount and timeframe for the payment due to BopCo for its services to the Applicant;
- Request Sample Identification Form: The form which is available through the website and in which the Applicant informs BopCo on the amount, type, state and age of the Sample(s) and on which the Agreement is based.
- BopCo reserves the right to accept or decline any species identification request submitted. Upon accepting a sample identification request, details concerning further actions are discussed between BopCo and the Applicant, and drafted in the Agreement. Once the Agreement is signed by both parties the Sample(s) can be send to BopCo for identification.
- It is the Applicants responsibility to make sure that ALL permits required to kill, injure, collect, take, trade or move biological material (e.g. collection and export permits) are obtained with the relevant authorities, and BopCo and/or any of its Partners cannot be held liable for a failure or delay in acquiring these permit(s) or any consequences hereof.
- Upon receipt by BopCo the Sample(s) will be compared to the sample information provided by the Applicant in the Request Sample Identification form and in the Agreement between BopCo and the Applicant. The Sample(s) will be examined visually upon arrival and samples which are not in accordance with the information provided by the Applicant or which are not properly labelled will not be analysed.
- BopCo and/or any of its Partners will try to provide an identification for the Sample(s) as correct and precise as within their capacities and to the best of their abilities, taking into account the condition of the Sample(s), the information provided by the Applicant, the scientific knowledge available at the time, and potential technical and experimental difficulties.
- BopCo and the Applicant will agree upon a timeframe within which BopCo and/or any of its Partners will work to achieve the identification of the Sample(s) and which will start upon receipt of the Sample(s) by BopCo.
- The output of a species identification request handled by BopCo and/or one of its Partners is an electronic Report entailing the results of the identification of the Sample(s) submitted, details on the mode of identification, the DNA barcoding sequence(s) if applicable and requested, and other relevant background information.
- The Applicant will pay BopCo for its delivered services and the amount due by the Applicant and the timeframe in which this instalment is due after receipt of the electronic Report by the Applicant as well as any possible deviation hereof will be stated in the Agreement.
- In cases in which the identified species need(s) to be reported to ANY authority, this is ALWAYS the responsibility of the Applicant, and BopCo and/or any of its Partners cannot be held liable for a failure to report, a delay in reporting or any consequences hereof.
- Upon signing the Agreement, the Applicant accepts the Agreement, all specific Terms and Conditions stated in the Agreement as well as the General Terms & Conditions mentioned in this “General Terms & Conditions for services supplied by BopCo” document on the date of signature.