Tattoo Recognition Technology – Evaluation (Tatt-E) 

Application and Agreement to Participate in the 

Tattoo Recognition Technology – Evaluation (Tatt-E)

Last Updated: November 28, 2016 

1. Who Should Participate 

1.1. Tattoo recognition technology researchers and developers from industry, research institutions, and 

academia are eligible to participate in the Tattoo Recognition Technology - Evaluation (Tatt-E) – 

hereafter referred to as the “Tatt-E”. 

1.2. Anonymous participation will not be permitted. This means that signatories to this document, 

Application and Agreement to Participate in the Tattoo Recognition Technology – Evaluation 

(“Agreement”), acknowledge that they understand that the results (see Section 4) of the test of the 

Submission will be published with attribution to their Organization. 

2. How to Participate 

2.1. In order to participate in Tatt-E, an Organization must provide the information requested in Section 5 of 

this Agreement identifying the Responsible Party and the Point of Contact. Organization must also 

print and sign this Agreement, attach business cards from each of the signing parties, and send it to the 

location designated in Section 5. Signatures of both the Responsible Party and the Point of Contact 

are required. 

2.1.1.The Responsible Party is an individual with the authority to commit the organization to the terms in 

this Agreement. 

2.1.2.The Point of Contact (POC) is an individual with detailed knowledge of the participating 

Submission. 

2.1.3.In some cases, the Responsible Party and the POC may be the same person. 

2.2. Upon receipt of the signed application by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 

the organization will be classified as a “Tentative Evaluation Participant.” NIST must receive this 

signed application either before or with the algorithm prototypes. Algorithm prototypes shall be 

submitted as pre-compiled software libraries. They may be submitted during the submission period 

from December 1, 2016 to September 15, 2017. The application is required to be submitted either 

before or with the first software library submission; subsequent submissions do not require additional 

applications. 

2.3. It is the NIST’s desire to select all Tentative Participants as Participants. However, if demand for 

participation exceeds NIST’s ability to properly evaluate the technology, NIST will select Participants on 

a first come - first served basis. 

2.4. Participant shall provide a submission (“Submission”), as specified in the document Tatt-E: Concept, 

Evaluation Plan, and API (“Test Plan”) available at https://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/imagegroup/programsprojects/tattoo/tattoo-recognition-technology-evaluation-tatt-e. A Submission shall 

include all executable code, validation results, configuration files, documentation, and all other files 

required by NIST and the Participant to validate and execute the tests specified in the Test Plan. 

2.5. The Submission need not be used in a production system or be commercially available. However, the 

Submission must, at a minimum, be a stable implementation capable of conforming to the Test Plan 

that NIST has published for Tatt-E. 

2.6. The Submission must be encrypted before transmitting to NIST. Instructions for Submission can be 

found on the Tatt-E website. Generic encryption instructions can be found in the Image Group’s 

Encrypting Software for Transmission to NIST document available at https://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/imagegroup/products-and-services/encrypting-softwaredata-transmission-nist. A box for the Participant’s 

public key fingerprint is included on the Agreement. Submissions that are not signed with the public 

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Tattoo Recognition Technology – Evaluation (Tatt-E) 

key fingerprint listed on the Agreement will not be accepted. 

2.7. Submissions must be compliant with the Test Plan, NIST test hardware, and NIST test software. 

Submissions must be delivered to NIST during the submission period given in paragraph 2.2 of this 

agreement according to the technical specifications given in the Test Plan. 

2.8 To the extent allowable by Federal law, NIST agrees to protect Submissions as business proprietary 

information by using same degree of care, but no less than a reasonable degree of care, to prevent the 

unauthorized use, dissemination or publication of the Proprietary Information as NIST uses to protect its 

own confidential information of a like nature. NIST agrees not to transfer any Submissions to any third 

party without the prior written permission of the Participant. 

2.9 These provisions are consistent with and do not supersede, conflict with, or otherwise alter the 

employee obligations, rights, or liabilities created by existing statute or Executive order relating to (1) 

classified information, (2) communications to Congress, (3) the reporting to an Inspector General of a 

violation of any law, rule, or regulation, or mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of 

authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or (4) any other whistleblower 

protection. The definitions, requirements, obligations, rights, sanctions, and liabilities created by 

controlling Executive orders and statutory provisions are incorporated into this Agreement and are 

controlling. 

3. Points of Contact 

3.1. The Tatt-E Liaison is the NIST point of contact for Tatt-E. 

3.2. All questions should be directed to tatt-e@nist.gov, which will be received by the Tatt-E Liaison and 

other Tatt-E personnel. 

3.3. These questions and answers may be provided as updates to the Tatt-E: Concept, Evaluation Plan, 

and API at the discretion of the Tatt-E Liaison. 

4. Release of Tatt-E Results 

4.1. After the completion of Tatt-E testing, NIST will publish all results obtained, along with the 

Organization’s name in final reports (“Final Report”). NIST does not intend to publicly disclose any predecisional data generated from testing the Participant’s Submission in accordance with the Test Plan. 

Participant acknowledges that such pre-decisional data may be subject to mandatory public disclosure 

in accordance with relevant Federal regulations. 

4.2. Participant will be notified of its results via the Responsible Party and the Point of Contact provided on 

the Agreement. 

4.3. After the release of Tatt-E results, Participant may use the results for its own purposes. Such results 

shall be accompanied by the following phrase: “Results shown from NIST do not constitute an 

endorsement of any particular system, product, service, or company by NIST.” Such results shall also 

be accompanied by the Internet address (URL) of the Tatt-E website 

(https://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/image-group/programsprojects/tattoo/tattoo-recognitiontechnology-evaluation-tatt-e). 

5. Additional Information 

5.1. Any data obtained during Tatt-E, as well as any documentation required by NIST from the Participant 

(except the Submission), becomes the property of NIST. Participant will not acquire a proprietary 

interest in the data and/or submitted documentation. Any data or documentation that qualifies as 

business proprietary information, as defined by the Freedom of Information Act (5 USC Section 552) 

will be treated as confidential in accordance with Section 2, and will only be used for the purposes of 

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Tattoo Recognition Technology – Evaluation (Tatt-E) 

the Tatt-E test. 

5.2. Participant agrees that it will not file any Tatt-E-related claim against Tatt-E sponsors, supporters, staff, 

contractors, or agency of the U.S. Government, or otherwise seek compensation for any equipment, 

materials, supplies, information, travel, labor and/or other Participant-provided services. 

5.3. NIST is not bound or obligated to follow any recommendations that may be submitted by the 

Participant. NIST is not bound, nor is it obligated, in any way to give any special consideration to 

Participant on future contracts. 

5.4. NIST is conducting Tatt-E pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §272(b)(8), (c)(2), and (c)(14). 

5.5. By signing this Agreement, Participant acknowledges that it understands any test details and/or 

modifications that are provided on the Tatt-E website supersede the information in this Agreement. 

5.6. Participant may withdraw from Tatt-E at any time before its Submission is received by NIST, without its 

participation and withdrawal being documented in the Final Report(s). 

5.7. NIST will use the Participant’s Submission only for the agreed-upon Tatt-E test, and in the event errors 

are subsequently found, to re-run prior tests and resolve those errors. 

5.8. NIST agrees not to use the Participant’s Submission for purposes other than indicated above, without 

express permission by the Participant. 

5.9. Original signed copies of the Tatt-E application are required. Original, signed copies of this application, 

with business cards from both signing parties attached, must be mailed to the address below. These 

must be signed paper hardcopies. Scanned documents submitted via email are not acceptable. Please 

send an email message to tatt-e@nist.gov stating that you have sent your application. NIST will not 

accept applications from generic email addresses (e.g. gmail.com, hotmail.com, etc.). Upon receipt of 

your application, we will send you a confirmation email message. 

Mailing Address: 

Tatt-E Liaison 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

Information Access Division (774.03) 

100 Bureau Drive, Mailstop 8940 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8940 

Participants should complete the box below per the instructions for transmission of encrypted content 

to NIST as defined in the Tatt-E: Concept, Evaluation Plan, and API document and available at 

https://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/image-group/products-and-services/encrypting-softwaredata-transmissionnist. If preferred, participants can fax their public key to the Tatt-E Liaison at 301-975-5287. 

Participant's public-key 

fingerprint (enter here) 

NIST's public-key fingerprint 69B8 0202 A637 A012 9735 A61B 01CD 0AAD 7FDE 970F 

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_____________________________________________________ ______________ 

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Tattoo Recognition Technology – Evaluation (Tatt-E) 

Request to Participate 

With my signature, I hereby request consideration as a Participant in the Tattoo Recognition Technology -

Evaluation (Tatt-E), and I am authorizing my Organization to participate in Tatt-E according to the rules and 

limitations listed in this Agreement. 

With my signature, I also state that I have the authority to accept the terms stated in this Agreement. 

SIGNATURE, TITLE AND ORGANIZATION OF RESPONSIBLE PARTY DATE 

PRINTED NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS OF RESPONSIBLE PARTY 

SIGNATURE, TITLE AND ORGANIZATION OF POINT OF CONTACT DATE 

PRINTED NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS OF POINT OF CONTACT 

ATTACH BUSINESS CARDS HERE FOR ALL SIGNING PARTIES 

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