Drawings, design models, renders and specifications
Sell architecture data to AI once the appointments are read
A practice's archive is drawn in one tool, rendered in another and filed in a third, and every project ran under an appointment. We read 21 documents from 13 design, rendering and practice-software vendors, the newest on 2026-10-28: 6 leave the practice's data with the practice, and 3 say in writing that they will not train AI on it.
Source: Architecture software data terms: every row, with its source
Tell us about the practice's archive
Design, rendering and practice tools on an architect's data, vendor by vendor
13 vendors, read 2026-10-28
-
Allplan
- Who owns the practice's files:
- not stated
- Keeps an anonymised or pooled copy:
- not stated
- AI training on uploaded work:
- not stated
- Files back after cancelling:
- not stated
-
BQE
- Who owns the practice's files:
- not stated
- Keeps an anonymised or pooled copy:
- reserved
- AI training on uploaded work:
- not stated
- Files back after cancelling:
- not stated
-
Cedreo
- Who owns the practice's files:
- the business
- Keeps an anonymised or pooled copy:
- not stated
- AI training on uploaded work:
- will not train
- Files back after cancelling:
- 30 days
-
Chaos
- Who owns the practice's files:
- the business
- Keeps an anonymised or pooled copy:
- not stated
- AI training on uploaded work:
- not stated
- Files back after cancelling:
- not stated
-
Chief Architect
- Who owns the practice's files:
- not stated
- Keeps an anonymised or pooled copy:
- not stated
- AI training on uploaded work:
- not stated
- Files back after cancelling:
- not stated
-
Epic Games (Twinmotion)
- Who owns the practice's files:
- not stated
- Keeps an anonymised or pooled copy:
- not stated
- AI training on uploaded work:
- will not train
- Files back after cancelling:
- not stated
Design, rendering and practice tools on an architect's data, vendor by vendor
- 3 of 13 design, rendering and practice-software vendors whose terms we read up to 2026-10-28 keep a right to use practice data in aggregated or anonymised form.(Architecture software data terms: every row, with its source)
| Architecture tool vendor | Who owns the practice's files | Keeps an anonymised or pooled copy | AI training on uploaded work | Files back after cancelling | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allplan | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | Allplan, Legal Notice |
| BQE | not stated | reserved | not stated | not stated | BQE (CORE, ArchiOffice), Privacy Policy |
| Cedreo | the business | not stated | will not train | 30 days | Cedreo, Terms of Use |
| Chaos | the business | not stated | not stated | not stated | Chaos End User License Agreement (V-Ray, Enscape, Corona) |
| Chief Architect | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | Chief Architect, Terms of Use (website) |
| Epic Games (Twinmotion) | not stated | not stated | will not train | not stated | Twinmotion End User License Agreement |
| Lumion | the business | not stated | not stated | 30 days | Lumion End User License Agreement (Act-3D, 26 August 2025) |
| McNeel | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | Rhino End User License Agreement |
| Morpholio | the business | not stated | not stated | not stated | Morpholio, Terms |
| Snaptrude | the business | reserved | will not train | no export promised | Snaptrude, Terms |
| Speckle | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | Speckle, Acceptable Use Policy |
| TestFit | the business | reserved | not stated | varies by document | TestFit, Terms of Service |
| Vectorworks | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | Vectorworks, Legal |
Each vendor's own published terms were read through estate-fetch and stored whole (sha256 on every row). For every document, four questions were answered from the vendor's own words: who owns the business's data, vendor keeps aggregated or anonymised use, training AI on the business's data, export at exit. Every stated answer carries the sentence it rests on, checked against the stored text; 'not stated' means the document read does not address the question. A vendor with several documents reads 'varies' where they disagree. 13 vendors, 21 documents.
Cite: “Design, rendering and practice tools on an architect's data, vendor by vendor”, Sell Architecture Data to AI, https://sellarchitecturedatatoai.com/ (updated 2026-10-28).
The process
- Item 01
- Describe the archive: the kinds of drawings and models, the years they cover and the appointments they were made under.
- Item 02
- We read your tools against the clauses on our board and the appointment terms in the ownership table.
- Item 03
- You get a written note on what looks licensable and decide whether to go on.
No software vendor, contract publisher or buyer pays to appear on this site, and nothing here earns a commission. Each answer is our reading of a published document, not legal advice on your own appointments. How this site is paid: if your practice licenses its archive to a buyer we introduce, our fee is 12.5% of the deal, with a minimum, when we act as your exclusive agent, or 10% with a minimum when the archive joins a bundle or the pool, agreed in writing first; any fee a buyer pays us is credited back to you.
Frequently asked
Can an architecture practice sell its drawings to an AI company?
Where it still owns the copyright and the client's appointment does not stop it, yes. The AIA's B101 and the RIBA contracts leave copyright with the architect and give the client a project licence, so the practice's own archive is often licensable once client names and confidential details are removed.(Architecture software data terms: every row, with its source)
Does the client own the drawings once the fee is paid?
Not under the standard appointments. B101-2017 makes the architect the author and owner of its instruments of service and gives the owner a licence for the project, and US law vests copyright initially in the author. An appointment that assigned copyright to the client is the case to check for.(Architecture software data terms: every row, with its source)
Do design and rendering tools train AI on our models?
On our board the number that say they will not is 3. Twinmotion's licence says Epic does not use cloud input data, or any data used with the software, for training any AI programs; Cedreo says project files are not used to train AI models; Snaptrude says nothing is uploaded to external training servers. The rest say nothing about it in the documents we read.(Architecture software data terms: every row, with its source)
How big does a practice need to be for a buyer?
It depends on the buyer. Mercor's construction listing requires 50+ employees and names architecture and engineering firms; micro1 looks for 30+ full-time employees; Petrarch says it works with companies of all sizes.(Architecture software data terms: every row, with its source)
How long can we get our files out of a design tool after leaving?
Lumion and Cedreo each name 30 days after the subscription ends. Snaptrude says access to user content ends at expiry unless it agrees otherwise, and TestFit's terms say it has no obligation to retain customer data after termination.(Architecture software data terms: every row, with its source)
Can the building owner change the design without us?
In the US, yes: the owners of a building may alter or destroy it without the architect's consent. In the UK, reconstructing a building does not infringe the copyright in it or in its plans. Neither rule gives the owner the right to license the drawings to anyone else.(Architecture software data terms: every row, with its source)
Related guides
Each one cites where its numbers come from.
Sources
This site's own datasets, every figure quoted from its source and dated:
- Who takes architecture drawings and project records for AI: 1 of 7 organisations whose pages were read name drawings, plans or design models among what they take, read 28 October 2026.
- Who owns an architect's drawings, by statute and appointment: 13 rules on who owns an architect's drawings and models and what a client's licence covers, each quoted from the statute or the appointment's publisher, read 28 October 2026.
- Architecture software data terms: 3 of 13 architecture software vendors whose terms we read reserve the right to use their customers' data in aggregated or anonymised form, read 28 October 2026.
| No. | Source | Published by |
|---|---|---|
| [1] | Vectorworks, Legal | vectorworks.net |
| [2] | Vectorworks, Educational License Agreement | download2.vectorworks.net |
| [3] | McNeel, Rhino End User License Agreement | rhino3d.com |
| [4] | McNeel, Rhino 8 End User License Agreement | rhino3d.com |
| [5] | Chief Architect, Terms of Use | chiefarchitect.com |
| [6] | Chief Architect, Privacy Policy | chiefarchitect.com |
| [7] | Allplan (Nemetschek), Legal Notice | allplan.com |
| [8] | Bluebeam, General Services and Software Terms of Use | bluebeam.com |