When the hardware company is closing
Hardware startup shutting down: can the CAD and test data be sold?
Updated
A closing hardware company often holds its most complete record on its last day. Who may sell it, and what has to be checked first, are set by the route the company takes out.
Ask about my hardware record Most of the vendors we read leave the data with you, but the contract with each customer decides the rest. Tell us what the vault holds and we will reply about your own designs.
Who holds the power to sell
In a US bankruptcy, section 363 lets the trustee use, sell or lease the debtor's property outside the ordinary course of business after notice and a hearing, and section 541 sweeps in every legal or equitable interest the debtor held when the case began.
Source: 11 U.S.C. 363
In Great Britain an administrator has the power to sell or otherwise dispose of the company's property by public auction or private contract under Schedule 1 of the Insolvency Act 1986, and a liquidator holds the same kind of power under Schedule 4.
Personal data inside the record
Where a debtor told people it would not pass on their personally identifiable information, section 363 stops the trustee selling it unless conditions are met, and section 332 has a consumer privacy ombudsman appointed to advise the court. Test logs and change notes that name staff need the same care in Great Britain under the UK GDPR's lawful-basis rule.
Source: 11 U.S.C. 332
Who is buying from closing companies
SimpleClosure's AssetHub, run by a shutdown service, connects qualifying assets with vetted buyers including AI labs and model developers, and starts with a short form or a connected GitHub repository.
Source: SimpleClosure AssetHub page