What a structural engineer may sell, by statute and code
8 rules on what a structural engineer may sell from client jobs, each quoted from the statute, the code or the board, read 31 October 2026.
Where the rule comes from
What it settles
The rule in its own words
How every provision answered
Every row is a single provision, and every answer expands to the wording it was taken from, the text it came from and when it was read. "Not stated" is used when the text says nothing on the point.
| Provision | Where the rule comes from | What it settles | The rule in its own words |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 U.S.C. 102(a), literary works | a US statute | what in a calculation or drawing is protected | Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of… |
| CDPA 1988 s.3, literary work | a UK statute | what in a calculation or drawing is protected | “literary work” means any work, other than a dramatic or musical work, which is written… |
| CDPA 1988 s.9, the author | a UK statute | who is its first author | the author shall be taken to be the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the… |
| IStructE Code of Conduct, confidentiality | an engineering institution's code of conduct | what may not be disclosed without the client's consent | The member’s obligation of confidentiality is owed to their client and not to interested… |
| NSPE BER, confidential information (foundation design) | a Board of Ethical Review case | what may not be disclosed without the client's consent | It would not be ethical for Engineer X to provide Homeowner B’s attorney with a copy of… |
| NSPE BER, the duty and a subpoena | a Board of Ethical Review case | when safety overrides confidentiality | Under the terms of the agreement with the client, the structural report written by… |
| NSPE Code III.4, employer files | a Board of Ethical Review case | what may not be disclosed without the client's consent | NSPE Code of Ethics Section III.4. makes it clear that engineers have an ethical… |
| Texas Board rule, sealing work | a state licensing board's rule | what a sealed document carries | This section does not prevent the reproduction of sealed and signed, original works for… |
Quoted wording for all 24 answers
- 17 U.S.C. 102(a), literary works, Title 17, United States Code, section 102 (subject matter of copyright), read 2026-10-28, Where the rule comes from:
Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression
- 17 U.S.C. 102(a), literary works, Title 17, United States Code, section 102 (subject matter of copyright), read 2026-10-28, What it settles:
Works of authorship include the following categories:
- 17 U.S.C. 102(a), literary works, Title 17, United States Code, section 102 (subject matter of copyright), read 2026-10-28, The rule in its own words:
Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed
- CDPA 1988 s.3, literary work, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 3 (literary works), read 2026-10-28, Where the rule comes from:
“literary work” means any work, other than a dramatic or musical work, which is written, spoken or sung
- CDPA 1988 s.3, literary work, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 3 (literary works), read 2026-10-28, What it settles:
“literary work” means any work, other than a dramatic or musical work, which is written, spoken or sung, and accordingly includes
- CDPA 1988 s.3, literary work, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 3 (literary works), read 2026-10-28, The rule in its own words:
“literary work” means any work, other than a dramatic or musical work, which is written, spoken or sung, and accordingly includes
- CDPA 1988 s.9, the author, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 9 (authorship of work), read 2026-10-08, Where the rule comes from:
In this Part “author”, in relation to a work, means the person who creates it.
- CDPA 1988 s.9, the author, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 9 (authorship of work), read 2026-10-08, What it settles:
In this Part “author”, in relation to a work, means the person who creates it.
- CDPA 1988 s.9, the author, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 9 (authorship of work), read 2026-10-08, The rule in its own words:
the author shall be taken to be the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken.
- IStructE Code of Conduct, confidentiality, IStructE, Responsibilities of a member (Code of Conduct, section 3), read 2026-10-31, Where the rule comes from:
Members shall not disclose confidential information.
- IStructE Code of Conduct, confidentiality, IStructE, Responsibilities of a member (Code of Conduct, section 3), read 2026-10-31, What it settles:
When an interested third-party requests to receive confidential information, members shall seek, and obtain, the consent of their client before disclosing any information.
- IStructE Code of Conduct, confidentiality, IStructE, Responsibilities of a member (Code of Conduct, section 3), read 2026-10-31, The rule in its own words:
The member’s obligation of confidentiality is owed to their client and not to interested third parties (for example a tenant of a property owned by the client).
- NSPE BER, confidential information (foundation design), NSPE Board of Ethical Review, Confidential Information, Foundation Design Services, read 2026-10-31, Where the rule comes from:
Confidentiality of client or employer records is often a critical consideration when evaluating ethical conduct in the practice of engineering.
- NSPE BER, confidential information (foundation design), NSPE Board of Ethical Review, Confidential Information, Foundation Design Services, read 2026-10-31, What it settles:
It would not be ethical for Engineer X to provide Homeowner B’s attorney with a copy of the original report Engineer X provided to Homeowner A unless compelled by a court or by some other legal authority.
- NSPE BER, confidential information (foundation design), NSPE Board of Ethical Review, Confidential Information, Foundation Design Services, read 2026-10-31, The rule in its own words:
It would not be ethical for Engineer X to provide Homeowner B’s attorney with a copy of the original report Engineer X provided to Homeowner A unless compelled by a court or by some other legal authority.
- NSPE BER, the duty and a subpoena, NSPE Board of Ethical Review, Confidentiality, Duty to Advise Client of Subpoena, read 2026-10-31, Where the rule comes from:
Ethical obligations relating to client confidentiality and disclosure have been addressed by the NSPE Board of Ethical Review on several occasions.
- NSPE BER, the duty and a subpoena, NSPE Board of Ethical Review, Confidentiality, Duty to Advise Client of Subpoena, read 2026-10-31, What it settles:
Engineer A has an obligation to fully cooperate with this governmental investigation.
- NSPE BER, the duty and a subpoena, NSPE Board of Ethical Review, Confidentiality, Duty to Advise Client of Subpoena, read 2026-10-31, The rule in its own words:
Under the terms of the agreement with the client, the structural report written by Engineer A was to remain confidential.
- NSPE Code III.4, employer files, NSPE Board of Ethical Review, Employment, Employee and Employer Files, read 2026-10-31, Where the rule comes from:
The obligations of a professional engineer with respect to an employer’s files and records are well established.
- NSPE Code III.4, employer files, NSPE Board of Ethical Review, Employment, Employee and Employer Files, read 2026-10-31, What it settles:
engineers have an ethical obligation not to disclose, without consent, confidential information concerning the business affairs or technical processes of any present or former client or employer
- NSPE Code III.4, employer files, NSPE Board of Ethical Review, Employment, Employee and Employer Files, read 2026-10-31, The rule in its own words:
NSPE Code of Ethics Section III.4. makes it clear that engineers have an ethical obligation not to disclose, without consent, confidential information concerning the business affairs or technical processes of any present or former client or employer
- Texas Board rule, sealing work, Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, Act and Rules, read 2026-10-31, Where the rule comes from:
License holders shall only seal work done by them, performed under their direct supervision
- Texas Board rule, sealing work, Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, Act and Rules, read 2026-10-31, What it settles:
Upon sealing, engineers take full professional responsibility for that work.
- Texas Board rule, sealing work, Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, Act and Rules, read 2026-10-31, The rule in its own words:
This section does not prevent the reproduction of sealed and signed, original works for distribution.
Read, then left out
6 named documents were read but are not the kind of document this board answers from; see why below. They are counted and never answered.
- NSPE, Code ethics: read whole: a landing page or the code's headings without its confidentiality text; the rule is quoted from the institution's other page or a Board case
- NSPE, Code ethics: read whole: a landing page or the code's headings without its confidentiality text; the rule is quoted from the institution's other page or a Board case
- IStructE, IStructE Code of Conduct (2022): the same section 3 as the Institution's web page, recorded from that page
- IStructE, Istructe code of conduct: read whole: a landing page or the code's headings without its confidentiality text; the rule is quoted from the institution's other page or a Board case
- ASCE, Code of ethics: read whole: a landing page or the code's headings without its confidentiality text; the rule is quoted from the institution's other page or a Board case
- Engineering Council, Statement of ethical principles: read whole: a landing page or the code's headings without its confidentiality text; the rule is quoted from the institution's other page or a Board case
The method in full
Each provision's own copyright statutes, the engineering institutions' codes of conduct, the NSPE Board of Ethical Review's cases and the Texas Board's rules were read through estate-fetch and stored whole (sha256 on every row).
For every text, three questions were answered from its own words: where the rule comes from, what it settles, the rule in its own words.
Every stated answer carries the sentence it rests on, checked against the stored text; 'not stated' means the text read does not address the question.
A provision with several texts reads 'varies' where they disagree.
8 provisions, 8 texts.
The 14 pages we read
- NSPE, Confidential information foundation design services (cited for reporting; the publisher's own copyright statutes, the engineering institutions' codes of conduct, the NSPE Board of Ethical Review's cases and the Texas Board's rules)
- NSPE, Code ethics (read, set aside)
- NSPE, Code ethics (read, set aside)
- IStructE, Responsibilities of a member (cited for reporting; the publisher's own copyright statutes, the engineering institutions' codes of conduct, the NSPE Board of Ethical Review's cases and the Texas Board's rules)
- NSPE, Employment employeeemployer files (cited for reporting; the publisher's own copyright statutes, the engineering institutions' codes of conduct, the NSPE Board of Ethical Review's cases and the Texas Board's rules)
- IStructE, IStructE Code of Conduct (2022) (read, set aside)
- IStructE, Istructe code of conduct (read, set aside)
- ASCE, Code of ethics (read, set aside)
- NSPE, Confidentiality duty advise client subpoena (cited for reporting; the publisher's own copyright statutes, the engineering institutions' codes of conduct, the NSPE Board of Ethical Review's cases and the Texas Board's rules)
- Engineering Council, Statement of ethical principles (read, set aside)
- US Code, 102 (cited for reporting; the publisher's own copyright statutes, the engineering institutions' codes of conduct, the NSPE Board of Ethical Review's cases and the Texas Board's rules)
- CDPA 1988, 3 (cited for reporting; the publisher's own copyright statutes, the engineering institutions' codes of conduct, the NSPE Board of Ethical Review's cases and the Texas Board's rules)
- CDPA 1988, 9 (cited for reporting; the publisher's own copyright statutes, the engineering institutions' codes of conduct, the NSPE Board of Ethical Review's cases and the Texas Board's rules)
- Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, Lawrules (cited for reporting; the publisher's own copyright statutes, the engineering institutions' codes of conduct, the NSPE Board of Ethical Review's cases and the Texas Board's rules)
Reference or embed these figures
8 rules on what a structural engineer may sell from client jobs, each quoted from the statute, the code or the board, read 31 October 2026.
Where the rule comes from, by provision: a Board of Ethical Review case 3 of 8, a UK statute 2 of 8, an engineering institution's code of conduct 1 of 8, a state licensing board's rule 1 of 8, a US statute 1 of 8 (8 provisions, read 31 October 2026).
What it settles, by provision: what may not be disclosed without the client's consent 3 of 8, what in a calculation or drawing is protected 2 of 8, who is its first author 1 of 8, when safety overrides confidentiality 1 of 8, what a sealed document carries 1 of 8 (8 provisions, read 31 October 2026).
The rule in its own words, by provision: stated 8 of 8 (8 provisions, read 31 October 2026).
Suggested citation: "What a structural engineer may sell, by statute and code", updated 2026-10-31, https://sellstructuralengineeringdatatoai.com/datasets/structural-engineering-conduct-rules/.
CSV download (24 answers, updated 2026-10-31)