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Privacy/Legal Statements on Drawings - What do you think?


ammobake

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So, I have wanted to ask this to see what others felt about it. Sorry for the long caveat! I kind of went wild on this one.

 

"Privacy Statements" on final CAD/drawings are kind of a grey area that isn't talked about much but it IS important.

 

It is an important legal issue that should consider when it comes to protecting your long hours of hard work from misuse/reuse or other illegal activity.

 

Whether or not your drawing is 1 sheet or 300 sheets, it will always be the intellectual property of your company or the company you work for.

 

IMO, privacy statements should ALWAYS be used on drawings. Not so much to protect your drawings but to protect your company.

 

If you give someone permission to reuse your own drawings, that's one thing. However, let's say someone from a different company re-uses your own designs/drawings without your knowledge. If you wanted to legally hold them accountable, the only way to have ANY legal footing is to have a legal/privacy statement on said drawings.

 

From what I've seen, many larger companies/firms typically will use privacy statements to protect their designs and drawings from being used by others for unauthorized purposes. Occasionally, the phrase "explicit consent" is involved.

 

Some smaller companies will use them when their designs involve closely-guarded industry secrets and/or when those drawings are the main reason the company is in business. For example, designing new cars or campers.

 

But even for people that freelance as drafters in their spare time it is something to think about. Technically, anyone's drawings can be misused. Let's say you do a set of renovation drawings for a client. 6 months later that same client submits your drawings to a third party that reuses your drawings for creating plans for a similar project elsewhere. If you don't agree with it, the only way you would have any legal footing is to have a privacy statement on those drawings.

 

There is a way to prevent CAD files from being overwritten or edited but those safeguards can easily be worked around. Also, even if your sheet formatting isn't copied (titleblocks and text for example) if you have reason to believe your designs and/or intellectual property is being misused without your consent you would still have legal footing if you have a privacy statement.

 

I guess the real question is why wouldn't you use a privacy statement?

 

I've worked for a company for a few years now that insists they don't want a privacy statement on the drawings I produce. Knowing what the drawings depict, I can only wonder why they don't want it there.

 

I've decided to put privacy/legal notices on all of my "freelance" work from now on because of something I found out recently. But the company just isn't legally protected without it.

 

One thing to consider is the client or "target" client for your work. Do you think the client would resort to unauthorized re-use of your intellectual property? Does that client have so many other independent clients that you don't want to take the chance? Do you care if you post your drawings online and 20 companies end up using the content therein? Some things to think about..

 

Also, your intellectual property can be illegally used by others regardless of how safe you think your main client might be. It isn't necessarily the client you need to watch out for. It seems like it's the companies working along-side yours that end up doing this kind of stuff.

 

In some industries, the only way to achieve a smooth transition between designers is to allow other companies to edit your files as necessary and then send them back to you. However, when is the line crossed legally? The answer is whenever you feel your property is being misused/reused in an unauthorized fashion - regardless of whether or not you know you can prove it.

 

Obviously, if they are using your own drawings to help you on a project and they send corrections/revisions back to you.. that's different. If you find out months later that they used those drawings to bid a similar project or patent something you designed.. That's the kind of thing you want to watch out for.

 

Recently I found a long-time subcontractor of ours using MY titleblock, sheet labeling blocks, multileader styles, dimensions, etc.. in their OWN plans (not involving us). I didn't agree with it but it didn't matter because there was no privacy statement per the request of my superiors when I started working here!

 

My superiors had a good laugh and we moved on. But to me, that stuff represents the very essence of my existence for about the last 10 years. They represent my own personal pride and, in a way, my stamp of approval. I didn't feel good about it.

 

Personally, I would never want to re-use other people's drawings because IMO I could come up with a final product that looks 10 times better. Now maybe that's true and maybe it's not. My point is that I have enough faith in my own abilities that I would never have to lower my standards and resort to using other people's work/stuff. It's just tacky in this industry!!

 

It's like - you can't even come up with your own titleblock?!! Unbelievable.

 

What do you all think of this topic? Do any of you use a privacy statement on your drawings?

 

-ChriS

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We don't list any such statements on plans. In the engineering contracts the client signs before work commences there are general statements to this effect though.

 

Recently I found a long-time subcontractor of ours using MY titleblock, sheet labeling blocks, multileader styles, dimensions, etc.. in their OWN plans (not involving us). I didn't agree with it but it didn't matter because there was no privacy statement per the request of my superiors when I started working here!

 

Personally I don't see any problem in that. So long as he hasn't got your logo and business name in the title block and is pretending to be you, I don't see an issue with it. Even less of an issue for trivial things like dimension styles (which are all fairly similar anyway due to standards normally).

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Put all the privacy statements on your drawing that you want but down the road if another subcontractor "borrows" your basic title block and border (not your company name and logo) what do you think the powers-to-be at your company are going to do about it? Fire the guy?

 

I'd be more worried about the design content. If you are in the business of doing custom designs of anything (a house, a machine part, etc.) then that's grounds for taking someone to court for stealing intellectual content.

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If anyone uses my dwg as their own then I would feel honored that my work was so great that they stole it. Then again I worked (for a few days only) for a firm that used someone else titleblock & layouts and changed the name & address, they were a piece of crap to start with. Did I mention I quit there with no other fulltime job because of their ethics and practices.

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Talk to Legal Counsel in the industry about your needs: pony up some cash for the advice, follow it to the letter.Consult your liability insurance provider too for recommendations (you must have one already).

 

 

Your personal opinions carry no weight in legal or liability proceedings otherwise.

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I think that ReMark hit the nail on the head. It's not the drawings that can be protected but the design. You mentioned a renovation project being used for a similar project but you didn't mention exactly what it is that you are designing. In the MEP industry, using similar designs on non related projects happens all the time. I'm not sure about the architectural world but one thing to consider is what exactly are you trying to protect. It is the design content. If your design was being used by someone else for the same project, you would have a leg to stand on. If your designs are actually protectable, you should protect them before they go onto the drawings by contract, patent, or whatever means is appropriate. A statement on your drawings is there to let anyone know that the content is already protected by these means. It is not the do all, end all, like you seem to be looking for.

 

I understand wanting to protect your hours of work setting up styles and title blocks but I don't think those things can be protected. They can be recreated by any drafter that is worth his salt and are probably not protectable.

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As long as you put a copyright notice on a plan, you have certain legal protections. For instance, you should be able to sue that subcontractor who's using your title block, as long as you can prove it's unique to you. Unfortunately, knowing it and proving it are often two different things, and a lawsuit may cost more than you're willing to pay for the satisfaction. If you want to get serious about it, see a lawyer who deals in copyright issues.

 

On the other side of the coin, you can feel flattered that someone likes your work enough to steal it.

 

As Organic points out, the contract typically covers any other considerations.

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I understand wanting to protect your hours of work setting up styles and title blocks but I don't think those things can be protected.

 

All that is needed is Copyright notice. Nothing more.

The key to all of this is someone stealing your IP is not like someone stealing your car.

The police will actively go after someone who steals your car.

YOU must go after someone who steals your IP to build and file the case.

The question becomes, "Is it worth your effort (time and money) to pursue action against the theaf?", or would your effort (time and money) be better spent on next project?

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We don't list any such statements on plans. In the engineering contracts the client signs before work commences there are general statements to this effect though.

 

 

 

Personally I don't see any problem in that. So long as he hasn't got your logo and business name in the title block and is pretending to be you, I don't see an issue with it. Even less of an issue for trivial things like dimension styles (which are all fairly similar anyway due to standards normally).

 

Thanks Orgy, I guess the reason it seemed so offensive at the moment is because the only thing they didn't use was our company's logo or my name. But everything else was a carbon copy of my work. I guess the reason why it riled me up was because my drawing blocks, dim styles, everything I draw and use in the drawings is very "unique looking", for lack of a better phrase.

 

I think I kind of simiultaneously took it as an insult and a compliment just because it was so obvious and because it was drawings for a project of theirs that didn't involve our company in any way.

 

-ChriS

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Put all the privacy statements on your drawing that you want but down the road if another subcontractor "borrows" your basic title block and border (not your company name and logo) what do you think the powers-to-be at your company are going to do about it? Fire the guy?

 

I'd be more worried about the design content. If you are in the business of doing custom designs of anything (a house, a machine part, etc.) then that's grounds for taking someone to court for stealing intellectual content.

 

You are right on that but it is a very grey area that doesn't get discussed much.

 

I suppose it also depends on the client. For example, if you do drawings for a client like the government. The government owns those drawings from the time you submit them (even before in a way). There is no way for a company to prevent any kind of future "misuse" even if your client is the government. Those electronic files will go into the hands of dozens of companies over the years - maybe more. The government can use those drawings however they want. The government will never say: "You misused our files". A privacy statement is there to protect the company, not the government so a privacy statement on those drawings wouldn't mean much since they technically belong to the government.

 

I guess my overall point is that you have to take into consideration the potential for unauthorized future use of your intellectual property with respect to what industry you're in and who the clients are.

 

-ChriS

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I think that ReMark hit the nail on the head. It's not the drawings that can be protected but the design. You mentioned a renovation project being used for a similar project but you didn't mention exactly what it is that you are designing. In the MEP industry, using similar designs on non related projects happens all the time. I'm not sure about the architectural world but one thing to consider is what exactly are you trying to protect. It is the design content. If your design was being used by someone else for the same project, you would have a leg to stand on. If your designs are actually protectable, you should protect them before they go onto the drawings by contract, patent, or whatever means is appropriate. A statement on your drawings is there to let anyone know that the content is already protected by these means. It is not the do all, end all, like you seem to be looking for.

 

I understand wanting to protect your hours of work setting up styles and title blocks but I don't think those things can be protected. They can be recreated by any drafter that is worth his salt and are probably not protectable.

 

In many ways I agree with you. Patented designs, experimental designs or designs for something very specific are and should be protected by law. In order to protect your interests it is obviously a good idea to use a privacy statement on your drawings. With regards to manufacturing, the concept of designing specific products with copyrights and such is much more straight-forward.

 

In construction, things get a little bit more obscure. Let's say I design a structural steel building. 1 years later our competitor builds an identical copy of that building on a project we had nothing to do with. Let's say it is a large building - 120' X 40' with a very specific design.

 

What if I could prove that client "x" gave that design to that competitor and I then discover that their drawings are identical to mine in every conceivable way (Lineweights, text, dimensions, etc.). Everything except for the titleblock.

 

You would likely have very little legal ground to stand on even if you could prove that your designs were misused. Anyone could have designed that structure. But what if I have engineered and stamped the original drawings, signed, dated, etc.. would it matter? Probably not so much. It would depend on whether or not you had a legal notice/statement on those drawings that is worded specifically to protect them from being misused as such.

 

I agree with CyberAngel that the contract will always govern but it only applies with regards to that contract and only so-far as the clauses state. Also, copyrighting isn't a common practice in construction. It would likely take too long to copyright a specific design and that's even if it is legally possible. Is there a way to copyright a random configuration of structural steel that has infinite possible configurations? I guess it is possible - like those companies that sell kits for steel buildings. But are they protected if my own company copies one of their designs down to the last bolt even if their design is copyrighted?

 

This is basically the dilemma. Even though I can prove contractor "X" copied our company's drawings/layouts for their own work it isn't necessarily protected by law unless you use a privacy statement to protect your intellectual property, specifically from that kind of misuse.

 

I think the tough questions are - "What is misuse"? and even if you can prove it in some way "What is proof"? The grey area is more obscure in some industries than others.

 

-ChriS

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All that is needed is Copyright notice. Nothing more.

 

The copyright notice is not even needed. Registering your work early will allow you to sue for damages and attorney's fees, otherwise you can only sue for actual damages and loss of profit.

 

http://www.copyright.gov/

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've recently been updating our legal staement on our drawings, they were so far off the mark to what is actually required.

 

The British Standard BS ISO 16016;2000 Technical product documentation - Protection notices for the restricting the use of documents and products, lists all the legal requirements for your drawings and documents. This copyright, patents and designs.

 

It gives you clear information including the exact wording to use on the drawings and documents to protect your Company. See below for the complete version that should be shown.

 

The reproduction, distribution and utilization of this document as well as the communication of its contents to

others without express authorization is prohibited. Offenders will be held liable for the payment of damages. All

rights reserved in the event of the grant of a patent, utility model or design.

Hope this helps.

Colin

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  • 1 year later...
The copyright notice is not even needed. Registering your work early will allow you to sue for damages and attorney's fees, otherwise you can only sue for actual damages and loss of profit.

Exactly, but we should control the registration process in order to be sure that everthing is handled the correct way.

Edited by kate_jaksn
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