If infringement is not the result of information provided in the contract documents, what is the contractor’s obligation to hold harmless?

• A. The contractor must hold the architect and owner harmless unless the infringement is the result of information provided in the contract documents.
• B. The contractor is not required to hold harmless in any case.
• C. The architect must hold harmless the contractor.
• D. The owner must hold harmless the contractor.

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is how indemnification is allocated for infringement claims under the AIA framework: the contractor normally agrees to defend and hold harmless the architect and owner for claims arising from the contractor’s performance, but only to the extent that the claim is not caused by information provided by the architect or owner in the contract documents.

So, if an infringement claim arises from the contractor’s work and is not the result of information supplied in the contract documents, the contractor must defend and hold harmless the architect and owner. The exception is when the infringement stems from information provided in those contract documents; in that case, the responsibility for the infringement lies with the party who supplied that information, not with the contractor.

That’s why this option is correct: it states the contractor must hold harmless the architect and owner unless the infringement is the result of information provided in the contract documents.