Paying a mold fee does not settle who owns the mold. Without a written agreement, a factory can argue the fee was only a contribution, keep the tool until every invoice is paid, or quietly run it for other buyers. Under PRC law a company holding someone else's property can in some cases claim a lien over it for unpaid amounts, but the parties can agree that a lien does not apply. That agreement has to be in writing before the dispute starts.
We draft mold ownership agreements, or mold clauses inside the manufacturing contract, covering: ownership passing to you on payment, your name and a number marked on each tool, a photographed tool register, a ban on use for anyone else, no lien, return within a fixed number of days on request, and who pays for storage, maintenance and repair. The same clauses cover drawings, samples and design files.
If a factory is already refusing to return molds, we collect the evidence of payment and ownership, send a demand letter on law-firm letterhead, and where the value justifies it, sue for return of the tooling together with an application to preserve it so it cannot be moved or sold during the case.
Related insights (3)
- Chinese Factory Won't Return Your Molds? Tooling Ownership and How to Get It Back
- Paying for Molds in China: What to Agree Before the Factory Cuts Steel
- Buying an ODM Product from a Chinese Factory: Who Owns the Design, and Can You Get Exclusivity?
Molds already in a factory with nothing in writing?
Send us what you paid, when, and what the factory has said. We will tell you how strong your position is and what to sign now.