Massachusetts § 320 - Ownership of dies, molds or forms; transfer of title

§ 320. Ownership of dies, molds or forms; transfer of title

Section 320. For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:—

''Customer'', any individual or entity who causes a molder to fabricate, cast, or otherwise make a die, mold, engraving plate, original art, pattern or form or who causes a molder to use a die, mold, form, engraving plate, original art or pattern to manufacture, assemble, print upon or otherwise make a plastic product or products.

''Molder'', any individual or entity, including, but not limited to, a tool or die maker, who fabricates, casts or otherwise makes a die, mold, form, engraving plate, original art or pattern to produce a plastic product or who uses a die, mold, form, engraving plate, original art or pattern to manufacture, assemble, print upon or otherwise make a plastic product.

Unless otherwise agreed to in writing, if a customer does not take possession from a molder of a die, mold, or form located in the commonwealth within three years following the last prior use thereof, all of the customer's rights, title, and interest to such die, mold, or form may be transferred to said molder, at the option of said molder for the purpose of destroying such die, mold or form, consistent with the provisions of this section; provided, however, that if said molder chooses to have all rights, title, and interest to any die, mold, or form transferred to said molder, the said molder shall send written notice by registered mail, return receipt requested, to its customer at the address, if any, indicated in the agreement pursuant to which the molder obtained possession of the die, mold, or form and to the customer's last known address indicating that the molder intends to terminate all of the customer's rights, title, and interest and transfer the same to said molder pursuant to the provisions of this section. If a customer does not take possession of the particular die, mold, or form within one hundred twenty days following the date the molder receives the return receipt of such notice, or does not make other contractual arrangements with the molder for taking possession or for the storage thereof, all rights, title, and interest of the customer shall pass to the molder and said molder shall then be entitled to destroy the particular die, mold, or form without liability to the customer, except that this section shall not be construed in any manner to affect the right of the customer under federal patent or copyright law, or any state or federal law, pertaining to unfair competition.

This section shall not apply to a molder who retains title to and possession of a die, mold, or form. Nothing in this section shall be construed to grant a customer any rights, title, or interest to a die, mold or form.