HOW IP IS HANDLED
Three rules, written down before work starts.
Inventors ask about IP more than they ask about price, and they are right to. Here is exactly how ownership works on an ADAPT inventor program. No royalty clauses, no equity asks, no license-back terms buried in page nine.
NDA BEFORE ANYTHING
We sign before you disclose.
The NDA is the first document in every inventor program, signed before you send a sketch, a photo, or a description. It is a hard rule, and it applies even to the free first conversation once the discussion turns specific. You do not have to ask for it.
WHAT YOU OWN
Every file that describes your product.
All CAD models, all simulation results, all drawings, and all design documentation produced on your program belong to you. Native files, not just PDFs. If you leave after phase one, you take everything produced in phase one. Patent counsel stays with you, and your filings stay yours.
WHAT WE RETAIN
Internal tooling and methodology only.
ADAPT keeps the internal templates, fixtures, checklists, and methods we bring to every program, none of which are unique to your product. We do not take equity, we do not claim royalties, and we do not offer investor introductions. We engineer, and that is the whole relationship.
HOW OWNERSHIP MOVES THROUGH A PROGRAM
Sign to transfer, in four steps.
The ownership structure is fixed before the first billable hour. Here is the sequence.
Sign NDA
Mutual NDA executed before any disclosure. First conversation is free, and confidentiality is already in force when it gets specific.
Scope program
Statement of work names the deliverables and states in writing that you own them. Fixed-fee, time and materials, or hybrid.
Deliverables released
CAD, simulation results, drawings, and documentation delivered as native files at each phase gate, not held until final payment of the program.
IP transferred
At close, you hold every file that describes your product. ADAPT retains internal tooling and methodology only. Patent filings stay with your counsel.
WHY WE STRUCTURE IT THIS WAY
The firms that want a piece of your invention are not engineering firms.
Parts of the inventor-services industry run on taking a position in your product: royalty percentages, equity carve-outs, licensing terms, or marketing packages sold on commission. We have watched inventors arrive here after those arrangements, holding a prototype they do not fully own. Our answer is structural. ADAPT is paid for engineering hours and deliverables, never for a share of your product, so there is no incentive to hold your files or your filings.
The same structure governs our Tier 1 work. Nissan, LEAR, Magna, Oshkosh Defense, and 3M would not accept an engineering supplier that claimed rights in their parts, and a solo inventor should not either. NDA first, deliverables owned by the customer, methodology retained by us. Engagement is fixed-fee where scope is clear, time and materials where it is exploratory, or a hybrid. First conversation is free.
Brian Smith, Director of Engineering
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions and answers
Will an engineering firm steal my idea?
The firms that want a piece of your invention are not engineering firms. Parts of the inventor-services industry run on royalty percentages, equity carve-outs, or licensing terms, and we have watched inventors arrive here holding a prototype they do not fully own. ADAPT is paid for engineering hours and deliverables, never for a share of your product, so there is no incentive to hold your files or your filings.
Do I need a patent before hiring an engineering firm?
No. The NDA is the first document in every inventor program, signed before you send a sketch, a photo, or a description, so disclosure is protected without a filing in hand. Patent counsel stays with you and your filings stay yours. We do not take a position in your IP at any stage.
Will you sign an NDA before I share my idea?
Yes. A mutual NDA is executed before any disclosure, and it is a hard rule that applies even to the free first conversation once the discussion turns specific. You do not have to ask for it.
What files do I get to keep?
All CAD models, all simulation results, all drawings, and all design documentation produced on your program belong to you, as native files rather than PDFs only. Deliverables are released at each phase gate, not held until final payment, so if you leave after phase one you take everything produced in phase one. ADAPT retains only the internal templates, fixtures, checklists, and methods we bring to every program.
TALK TO AN ENGINEER
Tell us what you are building.
Send the program brief. An engineer on our team will read it and respond within one business day. Not a sales coordinator. Not a routing form.