Selling CAD and engineering data

Which engineering data qualify?

Technical drawings, 2D and 3D models and plans from engineering, building services and construction, ideally in their native formats.

Why is engineering data in demand?

Because every file contains a lot of verifiable information, and hardly any of this data is publicly available.

An installation plan specifies pipe diameters, slopes, clearances and the applicable standards; a manufacturing drawing specifies dimensions, tolerances and surfaces. A model that is meant to understand or produce such documents has to learn space, structure and function. Public collections mostly consist of individual, simple parts. Complete real-world projects, with plan revisions, changes, bills of materials and acceptance records, sit almost exclusively with the companies that created them.

Who buys such data and what makes it valuable is covered in the article Engineering data for AI training. In our valuation, CAD carries more weight than any other format.

Which companies hold such data?

Mainly trade, construction and industrial firms whose project folders have grown over many years.

• Plumbing, heating, ventilation and electrical contractors with installation plans from many building projects
• Construction firms, planning and engineering offices with construction and shop drawings
• Mechanical and plant engineering firms with designs, bills of materials and change history
• Product development and industrial design teams with 3D models and renderings

Who owns the rights to plans and drawings?

Often not the company alone. Before any licence we check who holds rights in the documents.

• Under German law, technical drawings and plans can be protected by copyright as depictions of a technical nature (§ 2(1) no. 7 UrhG).^[1] The Federal Court of Justice considers even a low degree of individual character sufficient.^[2] Only the depiction is protected, however, not the technology it shows.^[3]
• Architects' plans can additionally be protected as designs for works of architecture (§ 2(1) no. 4 UrhG). The copyright stays with the planner; clients receive rights of use only to the extent the purpose of the contract requires (§ 31(5) UrhG).^[4] A licence for AI training is unlikely to be covered without an express agreement.
• For drawings made by the company's own employees, the scope of the rights of use follows the employment contract and the purpose of the business (§ 43 UrhG).^[5]
• Drawings supplied by clients and projects under a non-disclosure agreement are excluded, or consent is obtained first.
• Designs of current products can be trade secrets (§ 2 no. 1 GeschGehG).^[6] Licences therefore usually cover completed projects and discontinued product lines.

How is engineering data anonymised?

Everything that points to clients, projects, locations or people is removed. The geometry stays unchanged.

• Title blocks: client, project and drawing number, drafter and checker
• File metadata: author, company name, storage paths and references to other files
• Addresses, site plans and coordinates that locate a building project
• Logos, stamps and layer or file names containing client names

Names of drafters and checkers are personal data. Once cleaned, the data no longer fall under the GDPR (Recital 26).^[7] The procedure is described in detail on the anonymisation page.

How does licensing work?

In four steps. No files leave the company until a buyer has been found.