i think there is some language in the AIA that permits one to get at work previously done in other offices, but i do believe there is some qualifying language as to use?

You have every right to use the photos and most firms should give them to you with a smile on their face, especially if they are AIA firms. You should properly credit the firm and your role in the project, i.e. John Smith was a project architect on this project while at ABC Architects. Payment for rights is up to the photographer, not the firm, and no, the firm can't sell them to you, as again, the photographer owns the photos.

The AIA code of Ethics is fairly specific on the rules for all of this. I suggest you get a copy and read it, especially with your impending decision.

In practice, though, you may want to limit the use of the prior firm's work on your website, as you don't want your website to be an advertisement for how great your former employer was. Also, If it is just you in your new firm, and your website has only $100 million projects that you worked on in the past, it will look weird to potential clients. Try to focus on the smaller projects from your past on the web, and save the glossies of the large projects for the marketing presentations.

Once you have some projects going and something to show for it, cut the cord to the other firms work online, but don't stop using it for marketing presentations, as I have found that many clients have a comfort level with knowing about your past.

This is what I have done, and it has worked fairly well.


MT

In the AIA's log of decisions, sanctions, and censures there are a number of cases with interpretations of these rules regarding photos and other documentation.
The AIA says that the firm's must provide paper copies of drawings, and representative photos.
They must provide these only to current or recent employees - and they've interpreted "recent to mean less than a year.
The firm is allowed to select the photos and drawings - and they don't have to give you documentation of every project you've worked on or every photo they have of any particular project.
The firm is allowed to charge you for photos and drawings. Some firms have used this right maliciously - charging a departing employee for costs of a photo shoot!
The firm does not have any obligation to allow you to take any digital files.
The firm does not have to allow you to take or use any documentation of projects on which the client's contract contains a confidentiality clause or a prohibition from publishing.
The firm does not have to allow you to publish anything if you signed a non-disclosure agreement (which might have part of an employee handbook or something that you signed when you were first hired.) This is especially an issue in the case of projects that haven't been built yet.
The AIA's policy is intended to allow employees to have representative work samples for use in their portfolios. It does not grant the right to publish any of the firm's work without permission, such as on a website.

Regardless of whether or not the firm is an AIA member:
You can always photograph anything from a public street.
You need the property owner's permission to take interior photos or those from vantage points on the property.

Regarding use on the website:
You need permission to publish photos that you did not take. It the firm took the photos you need their permission. If it was an outside photographer you need his/her permission.
Similarly, the drawings are instruments of service of the firm. You need their permission to publish them.

Most firms will grant permission readily, if properly credited.
Some won't.

Bloopox -- great post -- very useful summary of a set of issues that confuse a lot of folks. Thanks !

Thanks for all your responses. I'll take these issues into consideration when trying to get the materials I need.

Thanks again!

FP

Copyright rests with the creator, which is most likely the photographer. Your previous firm may not have the legal right to provide copies of photos that were contracted by your previous firm to be taken by a professional photographer. In most cases, the photographer retains the copyright to the images created and only the named licensees on the original agreement can use those images. If the previous firm does release copies to you, you could have legal issues relating to copyright. The only way this is not true is if the previous firm was using a work-for-hire agreement where the copyright owner gives up any claims to the work they created.  That agreement can only be made in writing and agreed to and signed by both parties.