Copyright & Moral Rights
Keep Control of Your Design
Advice on copyright and moral rights in architectural drawings and designs across Australia
Your drawings are your practice's most valuable asset, and the terms you sign decide how much of that value you keep. Copyright is usually given away by accident, in a licence clause no one read closely, rather than on purpose.
Christopher Larcos advises architects on copyright and moral rights in their work, combining a solicitor's understanding of the law with an architect's understanding of what a design is worth and how it is reused. He looks at the licence you grant, the moral rights consents you are asked for, and what happens to both when a project changes hands.
The right time to sort this out is when the agreement is drafted or reviewed, not after a design has been reused on a site you never agreed to.
What advice on copyright and moral rights covers
Copyright in your drawings and design
Who owns the copyright by default, how it can be assigned or licensed, and why ownership is worth keeping with your practice.
Licensing your design
The licence that lets the client build the project while you retain ownership and reuse rights, and the wording that decides how far that licence reaches.
Moral rights
Your rights of attribution and against derogatory treatment of your work, and the consents agreements commonly ask you to give.
Copyright on novation and completion
How the licence operates when an appointment is novated to the builder or an engagement ends, so control is not lost through a change of hands.
Common questions
Who owns the copyright in an architect's drawings?
As a general rule, the architect who creates the drawings owns the copyright in them, unless the agreement says otherwise. Copyright is personal property and it can be assigned or licensed, so what a particular commission allows depends on the terms of engagement. The most common arrangement is that the architect keeps ownership and grants the client a licence to use the design for the permitted purpose, which is why the licence wording in your agreement matters so much.
What is a copyright licence in a Client Architect Agreement?
It is the clause that says what the client may do with your design. A well-drafted licence lets the client build the specific project while keeping ownership and reuse rights with you. A broad or poorly drafted licence can let the client reuse your design on other sites, modify it, or pass it on, without further reference to you. Reviewing the licence before you sign is the point at which control is either kept or given away.
What are moral rights, and do they apply to my designs?
Moral rights are personal rights an author holds in their work, separate from copyright: the right to be attributed as the creator, the right not to be falsely attributed, and the right against derogatory treatment of the work. They apply to architectural works and, unlike copyright, they stay with the individual and cannot be assigned. Agreements often ask for consents in relation to moral rights, and those consents are worth understanding before you give them.
What happens to copyright if a project is novated or the engagement ends?
It depends on the agreement and, where relevant, the deed of novation. The licence you granted may carry across to a new party, sometimes on broader terms than you intended, and how it operates if the engagement ends early is often overlooked. These points should be settled in the agreement, and checked again at novation, so control of your design is not lost through a change you did not plan for.
Keep reading
Client Architect Agreements
Where the copyright licence and any moral rights consents are set, before you commit to them.
ContinueLawyer for Architects
Legal advice across the life of an architectural practice, from a solicitor who is also an architect.
ContinueNovation
How a licence can carry across when your appointment is novated to the builder on design and construct projects.
ContinueCredentials
- Dual-qualified solicitor and registered architect
- Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects (FRAIA)
- 40+ years in the construction industry
- Advises architects and architecture practices