Design Ownership
Design ownership is the clarification in the contract of who owns the schematic, board files, embedded software and documentation in a custom development, and under which conditions they may be used. If this heading is not written down at the start of the project, it turns into a matter of dispute once the product is successful.
Several different arrangements are seen in practice and all of them are legitimate; what matters is that it is written down which one has been chosen.
- Design remaining with the manufacturer: the development belongs to the manufacturer, the customer buys the product. Spare parts and support run through the manufacturer.
- Design transferred to the customer: the defined scope is transferred to the customer; whether the transfer covers the source files or only the production outputs is written down separately.
- Mixed arrangement: the application-specific part goes to the customer, while the common infrastructure previously developed by the manufacturer stays with the manufacturer. This is the form most frequently encountered in industrial projects.
The contract should also clarify the following: whether the source code of the embedded software will be shared, whether the design may be offered to other customers, the scope and duration of exclusivity if there is any, and the ownership of production tooling such as moulds. These clauses are commercial decisions rather than technical ones, and they are discussed at the quotation stage.
The context in which this term is used: Our Services