Authorship and the engineer's seal
Structural calculations copyright: who is the author
Updated
Calculations are literary works, and the firm whose engineers write them holds the copyright unless a signed document moved it.
Ask about our job files Copyright is rarely the obstacle for a structural firm; client confidences are. Describe the job files and we will answer in writing about your own work.
What the statutes protect
Copyright protection subsists in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium, says 17 U.S.C. 102(a). The UK Act's literary works include a table or compilation, which is how a member schedule or a load take-down reads. Under section 9 the author is the person who creates the work, and for a computer-generated work the person who made the arrangements necessary for its creation.
Source: What a structural engineer may sell, by statute and code
What a seal does not change
The Texas Board's rules say license holders shall only seal work done by them or under their direct supervision, and that upon sealing engineers take full professional responsibility for that work. A seal records responsibility, not ownership, and this site asks for seals and project identifiers to be removed before a sample of calculations is shown to anyone.
Next
If the firm is being sold or closing, the job files can be licensed separately: see structural engineering firm for sale.