Who owns the tooling for my invention?
Injection molds, and casting patterns, in most cases, are fungible – that is that they can be run by any competent company or individual with an appropriate size and type foundry or molding machine and appropriate expertise. Once the molds are paid for, they are the property of the company or individual who ordered them As a matter of convenience, the company running the molds usually stores them so that they may be ready for production at any time. Jigs, fixtures and assembly machines are generally paid for and owned by the production company and are not the property of the inventor, unless other financial arrangements have been made. If there are no liens (unpaid bills) the owners are always free to remove their molds.