What are 'instruments of service' and who owns them in A201?

• A. They are owned by the Contractor and cannot be licensed to others.
• B. They become the property of the Owner automatically at project completion.
• C. The design documents and other instruments of service are owned by the Architect/Designer, with rights licensable to the Owner for the project; termination may allow ownership rights.
• D. The Owner has no rights to use the designs after completion.

Answer: (C)

In AIA A201 the instruments of service are the Architect’s design documents and related work product created for the Project, such as drawings, specifications, models, and data. The Architect/Designer owns these instruments of service. The Owner is given a license to use them for the Project, which is why the answer states that the design documents are owned by the Architect with rights licensable to the Owner for the project. If the Agreement is terminated, the contract may allow the Owner to obtain ownership rights to the instruments of service, to ensure the Project can be completed or used as intended. This setup reflects who preserves ownership of the work product while enabling the Owner to use it for the Project.

Choices that say the Owner automatically owns them at completion, or that the Contractor owns them, or that the Owner has no rights after completion, don’t fit how A201 handles ownership and licensing of the design documents.