Design concepts in tenders and competitions: what to protect before award

TimeBinder adds a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes. For architects entering tenders and competitions, that means a dated, checkable record of exactly what you submitted, before anyone has decided whether to award it to you. For government tender submissions more broadly, including what records to keep in the UK, EU, US and Australia, the same habit applies: date the exact files you lodge.

Entering a tender or competition means handing a client, or a jury, your best idea before you know whether you have won. The worry is simple: what if you lose, and elements of the concept turn up in the winner’s scheme or the client’s next brief?

No single document removes that risk. This guide separates what the law gives you, what the competition or tender terms give you, and what your own records can do, with sources for the UK, the EU and the US. It is general information, not legal advice, and it deliberately avoids guessing how any particular dispute would end.

Ideas and expression: what copyright covers

Copyright law protects the way a design is expressed, not the underlying idea. The statutes say so in different ways:

• US. 17 U.S.C. §102(b) says protection does not extend to “any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied”. Section 101 defines an “architectural work” as the design of a building “as embodied in any tangible medium of expression, including a building, architectural plans, or drawings”. The Copyright Office’s Circular 41 says copyright does not protect “individual standard features” or “standard configurations of spaces”.
• UK. Section 4 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 includes in “artistic work” any “plan” within the definition of a graphic work, and “a work of architecture being a building or a model for a building”. Section 16 gives the copyright owner the exclusive right to copy the work.
• Internationally. The Berne Convention says the enjoyment and exercise of rights “shall not be subject to any formality” (Article 5(2)), so protection of a drawing does not depend on registering it.

The practical consequence: your boards, drawings and models are protected as works, but a general idea (an atrium, a courtyard arrangement, a way of answering the brief) may not be. So most concept protection comes from the rules of the procurement, from confidentiality terms, and from what you choose to disclose.

What the competition or tender rules can give you

EU public procurement. Article 21(1) of Directive 2014/24/EU says that, unless the Directive or national law provides otherwise, “in particular legislation concerning access to information”, the contracting authority “shall not disclose information forwarded to it by economic operators which they have designated as confidential, including, but not limited to, technical or trade secrets and the confidential aspects of tenders”. Two points: you have to designate what is confidential, and national access-to-information law can still apply. So mark confidential parts clearly and narrowly rather than stamping everything.

Design contests. For design contests the Directive requires the jury to examine submitted projects anonymously. As quoted in the Architects’ Council of Europe recommendations, Article 82 says the jury “shall examine the plans and projects submitted by the candidates anonymously and solely on the basis of the criteria indicated in the contest notice”, and that “anonymity shall be observed until the jury has reached its opinion or decision”. The same ACE document is a professional body’s recommendation, not law. It recommends that “the copyright of the competition entry remains the property of the author” and that the promoter “is entitled only to make use of the winning entries under the conditions that are laid down in the brief or as agreed between the parties”.

Everywhere. Competition briefs and tender conditions differ. Read the clauses on intellectual property, use of unsuccessful entries, confidentiality and publication before you decide how much to show. If the terms give the promoter wide rights over entries and you are not comfortable, that is a business decision to make before submission, not after.

Decide what to disclose

• Show what the brief requires and no more. The ACE recommendations say the material requested from entrants should be limited to the minimum required for a qualified decision. If the brief asks for more, consider whether the competition is worth it.
• Separate the pitch from the know-how. A concept board is different from construction details or proprietary methods. Keep the second out of early-stage submissions unless required.
• Remove identifying metadata where anonymity applies. File properties, layer names and author fields can identify you. Clean the submission files first, then fingerprint the final files.
• Mark confidential content. Where the process allows it, say which parts are confidential and why, in the form the procedure asks for.

What to record before you submit

A TimeBind records the fingerprint of the files, not the files, so it does not reveal the concept to anyone. For the step-by-step routine before the deadline, read timestamp your competition entry before you submit and tender and bid timestamping.

After the award: if you lose

1. Ask for feedback. Where the procedure provides a debrief or a published decision, keep what you receive.
2. Keep your pack and certificate together for as long as your records policy requires.
3. If you later see something familiar, record what you saw and when, compare it with your dated pack, and take legal advice before raising it. A dated record can show what you submitted and when; it cannot by itself show that anyone saw, used or copied it.

The certificate itself is simple to share with a panel or client when it is relevant; see how to present a timestamp certificate to a tender panel or client.

How a TimeBind fits, and what it does not show

The rules of the competition, confidentiality terms and the law decide what you can do about a concept. A TimeBind adds an independent record of what you submitted: the exact files, dated by a time that does not depend on your own systems or the promoter’s. It is a layer of protection against disputes about what was in your entry, including claims that a file was changed afterwards.

A TimeBind shows that this exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches its fingerprint. TimeBinder makes the fingerprint in your browser and the file stays on your device. It does not show who made the file, who owns it, or that anyone agreed to it. It does not keep the concept confidential, does not show that anyone used it, and does not restrict what a promoter may do under the rules. It complements your contract, the RIBA or AIA documents you use, and legal advice; it does not replace them. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources checked

Checked on 10 November 2026. We quote only what these documents say and mark where a point depends on your own contract or local law.

• Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 21 (EUR-Lex consolidated text): Article 21(1) wording as shown in the consolidated text. Our direct fetch of EUR-Lex was blocked, so we checked the wording in search-result excerpts of that page and a second copy of the text
• ACE-CAE, Recommendations for Architectural Design Contests: quotes of Articles 80 to 82 of Directive 2014/24/EU (anonymity) and the ACE recommendations on copyright and minimum material. A professional-body recommendation, not law
• 17 U.S.C. §§101, 102 (Cornell LII): architectural work; idea/expression limit in §102(b)
• US Copyright Office, Circular 41: what is not protected in architectural works
• Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, ss. 4 and 16: artistic work; owner’s exclusive right to copy
• Berne Convention (WIPO Lex): Article 5(2), no formality

Date your entry before the deadline

Make the fingerprint in your browser, keep the files on your device, and save the certificate with the exact pack you submit. Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required. After that, Pooled TimeBinds start from US$5, and an ASAP TimeBind is US$15. Prices checked 10 November 2026. See plans and pricing. Open TimeBinder