From the plan sellers' own pages
House plan license: what a bought plan lets a builder do
Updated
A stock plan is sold as a licence to build, and the designer keeps the drawings; that is why a licensed plan set is not part of a builder's licensable archive.
Who keeps the copyright
Archival Designs answers its own question, do I own the copyright to the plan I purchase, with no: the designer retains all copyrights regarding all plans sold. Alan Mascord's page says the design and all rights to it remain the property of the firm, and The Plan Collection says buying blueprints transfers no right of ownership of the plan to the purchaser.
How many homes one licence builds
- Donald A. Gardner Architects
- A PDF set licenses one house; only its AutoCAD product licenses building the home multiple times.
- Allison Ramsey Architects
- Sells a one-time licence for a single build and a two-year unlimited build licence.
- Barndominium Plans
- Says a buyer receives a limited licence to build a single home and acquires no ownership stake in the design.
Changing the drawings
Gardner and Mascord both say a modified or completely redrawn plan is not free of the original designer's copyright, and Allison Ramsey says every modification must be made by the firm or with its written authorization. Archival Designs includes a copyright release for printing sets and making modifications with its PDF and CAD single-build packages.
The statutes behind this are on are house plans copyrighted.