Naming Guidelines

You asked, we answered

• What is the university’s legal name and what is the business name?

  Legal Name: University of Ontario Institute of Technology

  Business Name: Ontario Tech University

  Note: DO NOT use or create any acronyms for Ontario Tech University like OTU, OnTechU, ONTech, etc.

  For additional information please refer to Brand Central on the university’s website.    https://brand.ontariotechu.ca/
• Use the Business Name Ontario Tech University as much as possible!

  As a general principle, the university and the university community (including faculty, staff, students and alumni) should use the licensed business name as broadly as the law permits.  Except where the legal name is required (please see the Chart and below), Ontario Tech University should be used for all other university business and activities.

  The following is a non-exhaustive list of purposes for which the business name will be used and/or instruments and documents on which the business name will appear:

  • Cheques (eg. in the form of donations, sponsorships, bequests)
  • Marketing and promotional materials
  • Comprehensive campaigns and fundraisers
  • Conferences, symposiums and conventions
  • Print and digital media, press releases and external communications
  • Presentations, publications, theses, dissertations and white papers
  • Policies and procedures
  • Email accounts and email signatures
  • Government reports and submissions
  • Admissions and enrollment (including OUAC applications)

   

• When am I required to use the legal name: University of Ontario Institute of Technology?
  1. Academic purposes

  Degrees, diplomas and certificates will continue to be conferred by the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

  All official and unofficial academic transcripts will bear both the legal name and business name of the university.

  2. Legal agreements and documents

  The legal name of the university must appear at least once in all legal agreements, legal documents and privacy notices.  For these purposes, use the legal name University of Ontario Institute of Technology in the first reference, immediately followed by “Ontario Tech University” in parentheses. 

  I.e.  University of Ontario Institute of Technology (“Ontario Tech University”)

  Below is a non-exhaustive list of examples in which the above format may be used:

  • All legal agreements
    • Leases, employment agreements, collective agreements, letters of appointment, requests for proposals, funding agreements, goods and service agreements, licenses, non-disclosure agreements, research agreements, affiliation agreements, memoranda of understanding, placement agreements, waivers, etc.
  • Invoices and purchase orders
  • Privacy notices and privacy consent forms
  • Pleadings and documents filed in respect of legal proceedings

  3. Insurance policies and provisions

  Insurance policies will be maintained in the legal name of the university. 

  For legal agreements entered into between the university and a third party that require the third party to carry insurance and to name the university as an “additional insured”, the legal name of the university will be expressly stated in the insurance section of the agreement.

  4. Intellectual Property Protection

  Copyright notices will be in the legal name of the university.

                  I.e. © University of Ontario Institute of Technology 2020

  Patents and patent applications will be in the legal name of the university.

  Trademark filings and registrations will be submitted in the legal name of the university. 

  5. Research Funding Applications

  The research portals for external funding agencies, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program, Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the Canadian Common CV, will retain the legal name of the university in their organizational drop-down menus.

  Note: in the written component of research proposals use the business name Ontario Tech University. 

• Why does the university operate under two separate names?

  The University of Ontario Institute of Technology Act, 2002, is the statute under which the university was brought into legal existence and from which it derives its authority to act.  As a result, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology continues to be the legal name of the university and will be used in accordance with the guidelines issued by the University Secretary and General Counsel, as amended from time to time.  

  Effective January 28, 2020, Ontario Tech University is the official business name of the university. The business name registration permits the university to conduct business as Ontario Tech University, thereby supporting the university’s new brand identity launched in 2019.