|
_______________________________________________________________
Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act Claims
Texas
Intellectual Property Lawyer, Jason Coomer handles
copyright infringement
lawsuits including architectural works copyright claims
where architects have had their work
and designs stolen by builders and businesses. Through
the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act (AWCPA), an
architect whose work was stolen by a builder can seek
damages for infringing structures. Architecture
Copyright Infringement Lawyer, Jason Coomer handles
Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act Claims for
architects that have had their work stolen by builders.
If you are an architect that has
discovered infringement of your architectural designs and
are interested in filing a copyright infringement claim to
seek damages for theft of your design,
contact
Texas Architecture Copyright Lawyer Jason Coomer via e-mail
or use our online submission form
to send us information about your architectural copyright
infringement claim.
Copyright Owners have Exclusive
Rights
The owner of a copyright has several
exclusive rights to the copyrighted work, including the
exclusive right to prepare derivative works from the
original, the right to make or distribute copies and the
right to publish the work. A violation of the copyright
owner's exclusive rights constitutes an infringement
entitling the owner to injunctive relief to stop the
infringement and to monetary damages. Under the
Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act (AWCPA), a
design professional may, therefore, invoke copyright
remedies not only for copycat building practices, but also
for other unauthorized uses of the protected design.
Architectural Works Covered By
Architectural Works Copyright
Protection Act
The Architectural Works Copyright
Protection Act (AWCPA) only protects “architectural works”
created on or after December 1, 1990, and some earlier
designs so long as they were unconstructed and unpublished
as of that date. In determining when a design was created
remember that a drawing can be created gradually, as each
part is committed to paper.
The Architectural Works Copyright
Protection Act defines "architectural work" as the design of
a building as embodied in any tangible medium of expression,
including a building, architectural plans, or drawings. The
work includes the overall form, as well as the arrangement
and composition of spaces and elements in the design, but
does not include individual standard features.
The Act covers a variety of "buildings"
designed to be occupied by humans, such as houses, churches,
museums, office buildings, apartments, and condos.
Structures other than buildings that are major civil
engineering structures such as bridges, cloverleaf highway
interchanges, dams, walkways, tents, recreational vehicles,
mobile homes, and boats are not protected under this act.
Additionally, the Act does not protect
standard configurations of spaces, and individual standard
features, such as windows, doors, and other staple building
components, as well as functional elements whose design or
placement is dictated by utilitarian concerns.
Registration and Infringement
Copyright infringement is defined as an
unauthorized violation of the exclusive rights of the
copyright owner. Copying the architectural work by
duplicating the original drawing or constructing a duplicate
building from the original drawing or from the original
building are examples of infringement. Infringement can be
proven through evidence of direct copying or can be inferred
where the copyright owner proves that the infringer had
access to the original work and substantial similarities
exist between the original and the copy. A perfect copy or
replica is not required to prove copyright infringement. The
test is whether or not the average lay observer would
recognize that the copy was appropriated from the original
work.
The federal courts have exclusive
jurisdiction to determine copyright infringement. In most
cases, the federal district court where the defendant
resides is the proper venue for an infringement lawsuit.
Registration of the architectural work
with the U.S. Copyright Office, while not required for
copyright protection, is a prerequisite to filing an
infringement lawsuit. If the copyright is not registered
before the act of infringement, the damages recoverable are
limited to actual damages suffered by the copyright owner
plus profits derived by the infringer. If the copyright is
registered before the infringement occurs, the copyright
owner may elect to recover statutory damages and is entitled
to recover his or her attorneys' fees.
The Law Offices of Jason S. Coomer, P.L.L.C. helps
architects seek damages for builders that have stolen,
taken, or infringed on their architectural designs. He
works with other Texas Architecture Copyright Lawyers
including Houston Architecture Copyright Lawyers, Dallas
Texas Architectural Design Copyright Lawyers, San Antonio
Architecture Copyright Lawyers, and Austin Architecture
Copyright Lawyers to handle Texas architectural copyright
claims.
If you need a Texas Architectural Design Copyright Lawyer or a
Texas Copyright Infringement Lawyer to advise you on an
architecture copyright infringement claim,
contact
Texas Architecture Copyright Infringement Lawyer Jason Coomer.
|
