Appendix E

OWNERSHIP OF DRAWINGS AND
OWNERSHIP OF COPYRIGHT

Ownership of drawings, specifications and other documents used in the construction of a project is frequently confused with ownership of copyright. The ownership of drawings and related documents refers to the ownership of the drawings themselves and is governed by the contract between the Engineer or Architect and the Client. The ownership of copyright, on the other hand, refers to the ownership of the idea embodied in the drawings and the right to reproduce that idea.

The following are summary statements which have been derived from and article in "The Canadian Law of Architecture and Engineering" by Beverley M. McLachlin and Wilfred J. Wallace, 1987:

a) The Engineer or Architect who creates the idea of copyrighted work retains it unless it is expressly assigned to another or is allowed to enter the public domain, i.e. by publication in magazines and journals, without reservation of copyright.

b) The drawings, specifications and other documents produced by and Engineer or Architect are the property of the Client once they have been paid for unless the Client/Consultant agreement contains provisions to the contrary.

c) Documents produced by and Engineer or Architect while acting as a certifier or as an independent administrator of a contract between his Client and a Contractor or Supplier are the property of the Engineer or Architect.

d) Documents, such as design notes, calculations and communication records, which are produced by and Engineer or Architect for the sole purpose of assisting him in carrying out an assignment for a Client are the property of the Engineer or Architect.

 

Engineers or Architects employed by either Clients or Consultants should give consideration to the above legal aspects in the drafting of the Client/Consultant agreement for a particular project. Following are summary statements of the primary considerations:

a) To prevent re-use of drawings, specifications and other documents prepared by an Engineer or Architect acting as an agent for a Client, an appropriate clause should be inserted in the Client/Consultant agreement stating that the documents are the property of the Engineer or Architect and are not to be used on any other project without prior written consent.

b) If a Client wishes to prevent the re-use of an idea (innovative technical feature or specific architectural appearance) that has been developed by an Engineer or Architect while acting as an agent to the Client, an appropriate clause should be inserted in the Client/Consultant agreement stating the specific elements of the design that are not to be used on other projects without prior written consent.

c) Originals or reproducible copies of stamped documents prepared by an Engineer or Architect while acting as an agent to a Client should be provided to the Client for use on that specific project if requested. The Engineer or Architect should retain either the originals or reproducible copies for his records.

d) With or without contractual restriction on the re-use of drawings and related documents OR the idea embodied in the documents, Engineers or Architects should be guided by their respective Codes of Ethics in their conduct with respect to re-use of drawings or the idea embodied in them.

e) APEGGA members are encouraged to properly notify other professional members if they intend to use documents produced by the other member as reference material. In circumstances where a member intends to extract or copy documents produced by another professional members, permission should be obtained before doing so and full credit should be given to the original author.

 

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