Here is my scenario. I'm an engineering graduate who did structural engineering for a few years, but never tested for my PE. I hit job cutbacks and eventually decided to do AutoCAD Drafting to earn a living. I service different Engs, Archs, Int Dgns, and etc, which has provoked this question. …When someone gives me paper copies of building drawings (or civil site, or similar) to recreate in AutoCAD format, can I trace them into AutoCAD without violating "copyright" of the original creator of the drawings? …Here is a perfect example I'm currently working on. ...A client of mine who does anti-corrosion systems contacted me about a water tower. The owner of the water tower wants to add my client's anti-corrosion system to their tower. My client gave me paper copies of the water tower, that were originally created by a structural engineering firm, so I could get the tower into AutoCAD format. From that point I will overlay his anti-corrosion system on the tower. The thing is, the paper copies have a “property of XYZ Company” stamp on them. I have assumed that my client has received these drawings from the owner and that he has the right to give them to me for recreating them in AutoCAD format. …This is how many of my projects are. They are improvement or revision type projects that require existing paper copies to be converted to AutoCAD so that the improvement or revision can be added.