Who owns factory CAD files and development work?
Agree a deliverables schedule with your UK sourcing provider before development starts. Specify ownership or a usable licence, editable files, permission to modify and move production, and an acceptance process for handover. Put these requirements into your contract with Cambridge China Bridge.
Separate file delivery from ownership
A folder of drawings does not tell you what rights have been agreed. UK copyright guidance says commissioning a copyright work does not automatically make the commissioner its owner. Treat ownership, permitted use and delivery of editable files as separate contract questions. For the broader product and tooling discussion, see protecting your IP and tooling.
Attach a deliverables schedule to your agreement with the UK provider. List models, drawings, assemblies, BOM, firmware source where relevant, prototype records and development reports. Separate your existing material, newly created project work, and factory or third-party material that will remain outside the ownership transfer.
Check who can grant the rights
Ask the provider to identify who owns each deliverable and show how the agreed rights will reach you from the factory and any subcontracted designer. Request supporting agreements or signed confirmations, rather than relying on a statement that development is included in the quote.
For a UK copyright transfer, you need a written agreement signed by the copyright owner stating that ownership has transferred. Ask a UK intellectual property solicitor to check the proposed documents and how later revisions will be covered. Put responsibility for obtaining those documents into the provider contract, with an agreed process if a contributor refuses.
Specify what a licence must let you do
A copyright licence sets out what the user can do with the work and can contain limits. If ownership will remain elsewhere, request express permission to copy, edit, develop, manufacture, arrange manufacture, maintain and repair the product. Name the territories, duration, exclusivity and any royalties or further consent requirements.
Ask for permission to share files with replacement factories, engineers, test laboratories and service partners, and to grant them the permissions needed for their work. Agree whether use continues after the sourcing relationship ends. List retained factory designs and third-party components separately, with their restrictions. Coordinate disclosure controls through the confidentiality agreement guide.
Define an editable handover package
Request native editable models with feature history, assembly relationships, linked parts and referenced libraries, plus agreed exchange formats and readable drawings. Record the software and version, units, tolerances, materials and revision identifiers. Ask for any access credentials needed for agreed project resources to be transferred securely. Screenshots and flattened exports should not substitute for the promised editable files.
Require a file manifest linking the package to the approved sample and production revision. Have your engineer open the files, inspect dependencies, make an agreed trial edit and check the exported geometry. Record missing items and corrections before accepting handover. Use the design revision guide for subsequent changes.
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Make delivery and exit reviewable
Agree delivery at development milestones and after approved changes, rather than leaving the entire package at the factory until the relationship ends. State the delivery location, responsible contact, acceptance checks and correction process. Tie the relevant development payment milestone to those agreed checks in the contract.
Write down what happens if you cancel development, stop ordering or change factories: which completed and unfinished files are handed over, what payment conditions apply, and what transition help is included. Keep copies under your own control. Address physical moulds separately through the tooling sourcing guide, and ask the provider to quote any excluded handover work before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
Does paying for development mean I own the CAD files?
Do not assume so. UK copyright guidance says commissioning work does not automatically give you copyright ownership. Agree the rights and editable file delivery separately.
Can I give factory drawings to another manufacturer?
Ask for express permission covering disclosure, manufacture by another factory and any necessary sublicensing. Check restrictions on retained factory designs and third-party material before sharing.
What should an editable CAD handover include?
Specify native models, feature history, assemblies, linked parts, dependencies, exchange files and drawings. Include software details and a revision manifest, then test opening and editing before acceptance.
What if the factory will not transfer ownership?
Negotiate a licence that covers your planned use, changes and replacement manufacturing, alongside editable file delivery. If it cannot support your exit plan, resolve that before authorising development.