When the practice changes hands
Selling an architectural firm and the archive that comes with it
Updated
A practice sold or merged takes its drawings, models and appointment files with it. The archive can be valued with the business or licensed apart from it.
Ask about my practice's archive Most appointments leave copyright with the architect, and most tools leave the files with you. Tell us how the archive was built and we will write back about your own projects.
Licences outlive a change of owner
In the UK a licence granted by a copyright owner binds every successor in title except a good-faith purchaser without notice. A buyer of the practice therefore takes its copyright subject to the licences its clients already hold.
Source: CDPA 1988, section 90
Buyers that set a minimum size
Mercor's construction listing requires 50+ employees, and micro1's data partnership page looks for established companies with 30+ full-time employees and substantial historical data. Petrarch says it builds partnerships with companies of all sizes.
Source: Who takes architecture drawings and project records for AI
Getting the files out of the tools
Lumion keeps a customer's data available for 30 days after termination so it can be downloaded, and Snaptrude says users lose access to their content when the subscription ends unless it agrees otherwise. Exports should be taken before any change of ownership closes.
Source: Architecture software terms on a practice's data, vendor by vendor