Discussion:
What is the name of your state? California
I need to know if it is copyright infrigment, for one to use a home plan design that they refussed to pay their architect for. This crook used the designs and had another architect finish the engineering on them, without the consent of the creator.
The contract makes no mention of copyrights.
Answer:
What is the name of your state? California
I need to know if it is copyright infrigment, for one to use a home plan design that they refussed to pay their architect for. This crook used the designs and had another architect finish the engineering on them, without the consent of the creator.
The contract makes no mention of copyrights. Building the home would not be copyright infringement, but having another architect use the drawings as a starting point (creating a "derivative work") would be.
However, unless the plans were registered with the copyright office, you will probably find that you would financially be better off suing the former client for breach of contract (for not paying for the designs) than for any type of infringement.
Answer:
California
May I ask why you say I would be better off just suing for breach of contract?
This developer and this other architect are a team that has defrauded many people in my area, and we are trying to stop them from doing it to anyone else.
Do you mean the costs of suing would outway any recovery?
From what I've read so far, a successful copyright (if thats what we have) lawsuit would enable attorney fees.
Answer:
May I ask why you say I would be better off just suing for breach of contract? Breach of contract is a lot more straightforward than copyright infringement, and will cost you a lot less to pursue. Plus you can probably pursue it in state court, copyright infringement goes to federal court -- state court cases are usually faster and cheaper.
his developer and this other architect are a team that has defrauded many people in my area, and we are trying to stop them from doing it to anyone else. In that case, you can sue for injunctive relief under copyright law.
Do you mean the costs of suing would outway any recovery? Yes, if you win, you MAY be awarded attorney's fees -- its discrectionary on the part of the court. However, attorney's fees are seen by many courts as somewhat of an extraordinary remedy, so it's not something you can count on even if you have a slam-dunk infringement case.
But even if you do ultimately prevail, and even if you are awarded fees and costs, you'll still need to come up with many tens of thousands of dollars to pay for the attorneys and the trial. I'm not trying to talk you out of it -- this is just the reality of the situation, these IP cases can get expensive in a hurry.
You should take all of your info down to a local attorney who has experience in copyrights (or maybe construction law), who can review all of the relevant facts and advise you accordingly.
That's usually the case. With a registered copyright, you can sue for statutory damages, and be basically guaranteed some award at the end if you prevail. Without a registered copyright, you can only sue for your actual, provable damages, which are oftentimes a lot less than the statutory damages. Not always, though -- every case is different -- but that is the usual case.
From what I've read so far, a successful copyright (if thats what we have) lawsuit would enable attorney fees.