Legal Issues Surrounding the Use of Digital Intellectual Property on Design and Construction Projects

Abstract

Caption title. "March 2013." "Prepared under NCHRP Project 20-6, 'Legal problems arising out of highway programs'." Designed to provide an understanding of various legal issues surrounding the use of building information models on transportation design and construction projects. Those legal issues include ownership; updating and distribution rights; software interoperability; liability; copyright protection, nondisclosure agreements, trade secrets, and public information disclosure laws; protection of digital intellectual property; and digital signatures. Introduction -- Applicability of the Copyright Laws to Building Information Modeling -- The Transportation Department or Other Designer as the Owner of a Mode -- Contractual Provisions and Models -- Protection of Models and Collaborators -- Protecting Models and Collaborators with Disclaimers and Read-Only Files -- Use of Digital Signatures -- Models and Interoperability Issues -- BIM Issues that May Limit Copyright Protection for a Model -- Whether Model Is a Trade Secret -- Disclosure of Models Under Public Information Laws -- Discussion of the Transportation Departments' Other Responses to Survey Questions -- Conclusion.