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Old tracings

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DwightB

Guest
My office happens to have the stored tracings of the firm I started working with in '72. There are thousands of tracings. I'd like to thin the pile and wonder about selling the originals to the present owner so they can have a piece of history. I'm also scanning them, just in case I ever need to refer to that old work. My thought is that I could offer the owner of the building that I would send them the originals and a cd with pdf scans of the originals for a price that would include a nice profit.

Complications? Liability? Add a rubber stamp "Archive only-not for construction"?
 
Maybe "inherited" was the wrong term, the purchase agreement says I bought "all..archives,...blueprints, engineering data, designs, all other proprietary information or property of the [selling] Business."
 
Then its yours to sell. No disclaimer necessary.

You are not selling an "instrument of service," you are selling a piece of art.

Definitely don't disrespect the drawings by marking them up.
 
I would sell them the original tracings but not the CD. If they want to make copies, fine, but don't be part of that process. The CD could/would be much more likely to be used for future work.
 
Have you considered giving the originals to property owners and offer a scanned pdf for a fee? That way you are only charging for a service.
 
Offer them to the buildings' Owners for free. Or to go a bit further, just contact the owners and let them know that you have plans for their building on-file.

It's a great conversation starter. Particularly with regard to why they might have an interest in them.

One design project outweighs the value of all likely sales.

It also avoids your pricing policy problem - Low price implies low value for design; High price implies gouging.

Also solves your storage problem.

Once you sell it, it's not just potentially an instrument of service.

It's a product.

Otherwise, dispose of them in keeping with your records retention policy.
 
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