Original Work

A few days ago a house builder called me up to warn me that he was preparing to sue me if I didn't remove a house plan from my web site, http://www.carinidesigns.com/ and stop offering that plan for sale. He claimed that he and his architect developed that plan (or at least one so similar that it was obvious where I got my ideas from.) I found out that he had developed the plan about 4 years ago. He wasn't any more specific than that, and he didn't offer any proof of the date. I checked my records and called him back at 8:00 the next morning.







1) The image on my web site has a copyright date on it right in the title block, 1996.





2) I have records that show that clients started purchasing this plan and building houses since 1997, at least 5 years prior to the time that he and his architect supposedly developed the plan.





3) In late '96 and into 1997 my firm was aggressively marketing through a book of house plans we had published. This plan was in that book, which was distributed free to house builders in this area. It was not I who had access to his company's ideas, but the other way around!


As I finished telling him about the ample business records I have documenting my dates, years previous to his developement of the plan he backed down. He said he would fax me his floor plan so that I could see how similar they are, so that I would understand why he thought I must have stolen the ideas from him and his architect.



He did fax it to me and they are similar, not identical.




http://204.8.123.195/plan_details.asp?id=316


I don't know if anybody involved purposely looked at the plan I had distributed and then adapted it to come up with this builder's plan, or not. There are only so many ways to draw a plan for a 3 bedroom ranch.

Even though I had distributed this plan via the Internet and via printed media, it is still my work. Nobody else has the right to use it at no charge, or without my permission. Even when I sell it to a builder, all I am really selling is the right to use the plan for the construction of one house. The builder does not, for example, have the right to make copies to get additional building permits and build more houses. I still own the plan and all the ideas shown on the plans.

http://www.carinidesigns.com

Consult an attorney for legal advise. It is not the intent of this article to provide legal advice or information.


© 2007 Carini Engineering Designs, P.C.