Peter,
My first experience with this electronic scanning of documents was in the late 90s, so admittedly, things may have evolved since then.
The initial question is how did the documents get into the hands of the contractor-oriented subscription service. Since the Architect did not upload the documents, then they must have been uploaded by the Owner or a Construction Manager, if there was one on board at the time of bidding. If by a CM, this would have required the Architect's and Owner's consent before doing so. If by the Owner, I believe that the standard AIA documents provide the Owner with an unlimited license to use the documents as they see fit for this project,
potentially including the right to reproduce them for bidding purposes. Hopefully, the documents that were uploaded did not bear an electronic seal/signature.
If you have not already done so, I would suggest bringing the matter to the Owner's attention as this should reveal the source of the upload, assuming the Owner was aware of it. If uploaded by someone other than the Owner, they technically would have required at least the Owner's consent, if not yours, before doing so. Again, if the Owner was aware of it, I would double check the language of your agreement dealing with Ownership of Documents. If the owner did not act within its rights, you may wish to outline the correct procedures for the Owner's edification.
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Chester Salit AIA
Pasadena CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-17-2014 19:16
From: Peter Franks
Subject: Unauthorized document distribution
This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Practice Management Member Conversations and Small Project Practitioners .
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Interested to see what experience anyone has had with their Documents being scanned, uploaded, and made available through contractor-oriented subscription services.
I received an inquiry from an awning vendor in Miami,FL for a smaller public-bid historic preservation project in Iowa. I asked how they knew about the project and they told me they had reviewed the plans and specs on i****.com. It turns out a printed set of our 35 sheets of drawings and 275 pages of specs were scanned and posted for a national audience - all without our knowledge.
Every sheet had copyright 2014 on the title block. The documents are 100% Instrument of Service and solely our firm's property. After contacting them, the documents were taken down.
Looking for anyone with similar experience or guidance on how best to respond.
Thanks
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Peter Franks AIA
The Franks Design Group, P.C.
Glenwood IA
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