Archinect - News

Kim Kardashian sued by Donald Judd Foundation over false ownership claims

2024-03-28T12:28:00-04:00

Kim Kardashian's name is in the design news cycle once again after the Donald Judd Foundation filed suit recently against her company SKKN BY KIM in which it claims she falsely stated furnishings made by a company called Clements Design were the original works of the artist, who died in 1994.

The New York Times and TMZ are reporting on the lawsuit this week, which stems from a YouTube video tour of the makeup company's California offices that was uploaded in 2022.

The suit claims Kardashian unwittingly made damaging comments that could mislead consumers into believing the celebrity skincare mogul was endorsing the Judd Foundation (she and her ex-husband are, after all, both outspoken proponents of Judd and other minimalist icons like James Turrell).

The Foundation said they expressly forbid the use of their designs for marketing purposes. Kim’s team took down the two-year-old video and claims they contacted them contritely before negotiations broke down and the suit was filed. Cleme...

SmithGroup files suit over copyright violations for Michigan hospital design

2024-03-19T18:24:00-04:00

An argument concerning a new pediatric hospital design in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has spurred a lawsuit from SmithGroup against the local firm Pure Architects over an alleged violation of the copyright of an earlier unrealized project. Crain’s business journal is reporting on the disputed Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital project after SmithGroup filed a suit in federal court last week.

In the suit, SmithGroup alleges that the termination of their contract for the new Joan Secchia Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital never resulted in the required payment of licensing and other fees on the part of the hospital. They say that, in the aftermath, the hospital “improperly copied, reproduced, prepared derivative works” before sharing the plans with other architects, “willfully” infringing the copyright to generate new renderings.

Both the firm and the hospital are denying these claims publically. The $60 million project is expected to get underway this spring and be completed in 2026...

California passes new copyright protection law for publicly-available architectural drawings

2022-09-21T15:00:00-04:00

California’s state legislature has passed a bill sponsored by the American Institute of Architects California (AIACA) that will limit public access to copyrighted architectural drawings for the first time.

The recently-signed SB 1214 concerns drawings that were submitted to local and state government offices and will take effect on January 1st, 2023. San Francisco-based architect Cary Bernstein is the member who initiated the act and says it will enhance the protections already provided by the Federal Copyright Act that are not properly being upheld by planning processes within the state.

“The law balances California's Ralph M. Brown Act which ensures the public's right ‘to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies’ with long-standing federal copyright laws that protect architectural drawings,” Bernstein said in a statement. “I happen to love law, and this issue allowed me to indulge my interest through a project for [the chapter].”

Drawings, site plans, and ot...

Architect sues client for using work without payment or permission after being dismissed from project

2022-04-05T09:00:00-04:00

A Pennsylvania-based architecture firm has filed a civil lawsuit in the state’s Middle District Court against a former developer client for breach-of-contract and copyright infringement. Murray Associates Architects filed the suit against Pine Ridge Construction Management on March 28th, claiming that Pine Ridge has continued to use Murray’s design, drawings, and renderings for a proposed project after Murray was terminated from the project without payment and without a licensing agreement for Pine Ridge to continue using Murray’s work.

Events began in Spring 2020, when Murray was selected by Pine Ridge to serve as architects for the company’s bid to design and deliver the mixed-use Basin Street Development Project for Lycoming College at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, which would be housing retail, office, and residential uses. Murray delivered conceptual studies, graphics, and Revit/BIM drawings for Pine Ridge’s bid for the project, which was submitted to Lycoming College in June 202...

Who owns building codes?

2019-12-23T14:49:00-05:00

A copyright infringement lawsuit filed in 2017 against building industry startup company UpCodes by the International Code Council (ICC) is getting ready to head to court next year.

UpCodes is a for-profit company that dubs itself as a "searchable platform for building codes" by providing a variety of code-related services for designers and other building industry professionals, including a Revit plug-in that can scan building models for code compliance. This for-profit use of the ICC-generated code information is what's at issue in the lawsuit.

Samples of UpCode's desktop and mobile code software systems. Image courtesy of UpCodes.

Although International Building Code (IBC) guidelines are written into the building codes specified by nearly all municipalities in the country, the codes themselves are considered to be under copyright by the ICC. ICC, a non-profit entity, does the work of researching, writing, and periodically updating the codes itself, a service that is funded throug...

Could the photos and videos taken by visitors to the Vessel really become its private property?

2019-03-21T19:50:00-04:00

The Hudson Yards development has been the subject of much recent criticism, but it is a notice in its Terms & Conditions that has crossed the line for many of its visitors. Effective March 19th, one would find this warning article on the Vessel's website:

7. NOTICE OF FILMING OR RECORDING. I agree that all photographs, audio recordings, and video footage taken of me while at the Vessel, and any derivative works (“Recordings”), will be the sole property of Company. As the owner of the Recordings, Company has the unconditional, irrevocable right (exercisable by Company or by third parties on Company’s behalf) to reproduce, display and use the Recordings, including for advertising, marketing and promotional purposes, in all media and formats, whether now known or later developed. I further authorize Company to store the Recordings on a database and transfer the Recording to third parties in conjunction with security and marketing procedures undertaken by Company.

This one paragraph ha...

Anish Kapoor reaches settlement with NRA over usage of his iconic Cloud Gate sculpture

2018-12-10T14:21:00-05:00

British artist Anish Kapoor has reached a settlement with the NRA for using his reflective Bean sculpture in one of their promotional videos. The ad, titled The Violence of Laws, had used images of modern architectural landmarks, such a Gehry's Disney Concert Hall, Piano's New York Times building, and Kapoor's Cloud Gate, as stand-ins of liberal elitism.

In March, Kapoor condemned the non-profit which advocates for gun rights for their use of the image, and filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in the US District Court in Illinois later that summer. Reached out-of-court, the current settlement has the NRA agreeing to remove the image from their video. Further, Kapoor has asked the US gun lobby to donate $1 million to charities working with victims of gun violence such as Every Town for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Actions for Gun Sense in America.

In a press statement released through Lisson Gallery, who represents the artist, Kapoor declared triumph over the NRA. "This is a victory...

Anish Kapoor sues the NRA for using image of Cloud Gate in a 2017 ad

2018-06-20T14:32:00-04:00

In a new statement, Kapoor claimed that it was the “solidarity and support” of the public that encouraged him to take action against the NRA, and urged everyone “to stand up to the dark and aggressive forces in society that seek, out of fear and hatred, to lead us backward into a primitive, paranoid, and defensive worldview.”

After denouncing the National Rifle Association in an open letter this past March, artist Anish Kapoor filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the group on June 19 for the unauthorized use of an image of his famous “Cloud Gate” sculpture in this 2017 ad titled “The Clenched Fist of Truth”. Kapoor filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Couple sues neighbors over a house renovated to look like theirs

2017-10-05T14:10:00-04:00

Jason and Jodi Chapnik, who live in a multi-million dollar home on Strathearn Rd., filed a lawsuit against their neighbours for remodeling a nearby property on Vesta Dr. to look “strikingly similar” to their house.

The couple sued their neighbors for $2.5 million—$1.5 million in damages, $20,000 in statutory copyright damages, $1 million in punitive damages, and a mandatory injunction on the defendant to change the design of the home. The lawsuit was filed against their neighbor Barbara Ann Kirshenblatt, her builder husband and architect brother-in-law for copyright infringement in federal court, as well as the real estate agent who profited from the house’s recent sale and the anonymous contractors who worked on the house.

The plaintiffs argued that the flipped house decreased the value of their home, which is one of the most well-known and admired houses in the neighborhood due to its unique architecture. Kirshenblatt, on the other hand, denies copying the look stating that the renovation is inspired by Tudor stone cottages, a style of stonework that is common to the trade and not protectable by copyright.

The involved homes are located in Toronto's Forest Hill neighborhood, one of the cit...

When is architecture protected by intellectual property rights? This redditor wants to find out

2017-05-08T12:41:00-04:00

Over on the /r/legaladvice thread on Reddit, user StrangeHomeBuilder asked for some help with a question about intellectual property rights and architecture. Basically, the redditor’s house burnt down due to an electrical fire, which also destroyed all their personal belongings. They had bought the house, which is in “cookie cutter suburbia in California”, brand new, did a few semi-custom adjustments, and “actually had a great time with the home builder.”

After the fire, the homeowner reached out to the homebuilder to see about acquiring the original blueprints for the home or, at least, for the model. They also wanted to see if the original homebuilder would rebuild it for them. Eventually, the homebuilders responded saying they weren’t set up to rebuild and also couldn’t provide blueprints since they were their intellectual property.

The homeowner then went ahead with a “local reputable homebuilder”, attempting to recreate the original home through a combination of cell phone and Fa...

Jean Nouvel's court battle over the Philharmonie continues

2016-12-09T14:33:00-05:00

Taking the view that the owner of the Philharmonie had modified and thus defiled his architectural work, Jean Nouvel had sued ... asking the court to order the owner to perform all works necessary for the restoration of his work so as to comply with the architectural plans he had initially drawn. [...] The case at hand renews the debate on the difficulties of granting remedies which constitute an acceptable way to balance the proprietor's rights and the moral rights of architects.

Get caught up on Nouvel's dispute with the Philharmonie:

The unusual tale of how Luis Barragán became a diamond

2016-07-26T15:28:00-04:00

Magid agrees with those who argue that the Barragán archive should be open to the public and returned to Mexico, but she insists that this is not her focus. “If that’s what my intentions were, I don’t think I’d make art,” she told me. “I’ve always called the archive her lover. To marry one man, she negotiated owning another man, whom she’s devoted her life to. It’s a weird love triangle, and I’m the other woman.”

“‘It intrigued me as a gothic love story,’ [Magid] said, ‘with a copyright-and-intellectual-property-rights subplot.’”

A fascinating story about “architectural preservation” that focuses on an artist's elaborate negotiation to open Luis Barragán's tightly controlled archive to the public in his native Mexico — and the unusual “love triangle” behind it. The story begins with conceptual artist Jill Magid, whose work questions the boundaries of institutional power and law. In her latest performance art piece, Magid had Barragán's ashes compressed into a 2.02 carat diamond, which was transformed into an engagement ring for architectural historian Federica Zanco. Magid would then “propose” to Zanco in exchange for Barragán's entire archive.

Zanco first received the archive as a gift from a Swiss businessman who purchased it and the copyrights for $3 million in 1995, in lieu of an engagement ring. Since then, everyone from architects to students to museum staff members have been denied acc...

Couple sues architect for allegedly copying their dream house

2016-07-08T13:00:00-04:00

The couple claims the firm Pereiras Architects Ubiquitous and property owners Daniella and Ari Schwartz accessed their exclusive plans in property records last August through the Lawrence buildings department — without their permission. “There is no doubt that you have accessed and intentionally copied the plans of the Fortgang residence intending to create a replica of our clients’ home and distinctive exterior,” the Fortgang’s lawyer Steven Stern wrote in a cease-and-desist letter

Rivka and Seth Fortgang from Long Island had their custom 4,400 square foot house built in 2004, in the neighborhood of Five Towns. After learning Pereiras Architects Ubiquitous were building a very similar looking house a mile away, the Forgangs sued. Rivka Fortgang, an interior and exterior home designer, claims that the copycat house has damaged her reputation personally and professionally.

More contentious lawsuits in architecture:

You can steal designs from a 3D printer just by listening to it

2016-03-08T19:11:00-05:00

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have demonstrated a method by which a 3D design could be reverse-engineered by analysing the vibrations picked up from a common 3D printer. [...] a basic recording made with a smartphone could capture enough information to recreate a given object. Data including where the nozzle is, how it moves and for how long it is expelling plastic can be picked up, and recreate designs with 90 percent accuracy.

Can you encrypt live sound?

Editor's Picks #442

2016-03-03T13:23:00-05:00

ICYMI Will Galloway penned a reflection on a workshop he instigated at Keio University, with members of Assemble, Paloma Strelitz and James Binning (pre Turner Prize). The studio ended with students building a very rough and very temporary Onsen. The three later discussed, the history of Assemble, architecture’s "long history of collective action" and "amazingly entrepreneurial architectural practices".

Donna Sink loved their take on radicalism "as just being a reasonable way to practice. They believe they're not radical at all. I'm onboard with removing the word ‘non-traditional’ from the descriptor ‘non-traditional practice’ when it comes to architecture of this kind. It's just practice, which is a broad world."

Plus, Amelia Taylor-Hochberg published an interview with Steven Holl and Kevin Lippert (founder of Princeton Architectural Press) about Pamphlet Architecture. rprt frm th heartland praised Pamphlet as "chewy and lovely".

News
Over at Architect Magazine Blaine Brownell, AIA, e...

"The Haves and the Have Nots" – digesting the most important news of the week that was, on Archinect Sessions #49

2016-01-21T18:46:00-05:00

As last week's episode was taken up by Pritzker-hooplah, this episode takes a look back at the major news items of the last week(ish) and gets you caught up with what's been happening in Archinect news.

We discuss: the recent photo exhibition on homelessness at USC (which closes tomorrow!); the Treasury Department's controversial new practice of tracking and identifying secret buyers of luxury housing; how BIG's 2 World Trade Center is now in limbo after "anchor tenant" Rupert Murdoch has pulled out; the demolition of yet another not-beloved-enough Brutalist building; the big ol' chunk of cash the U.S. now has to prepare for driverless cars; and the ongoing debacle over the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, as Zaha Hadid Architects accuses Kengo Kuma Associates of copying their design, while Japan won't pay ZHA until they hand over the design copyrights.

Phew! What a week. All original news postings are available in the shownotes.

Listen to episode 49 of Archinect Sessions, "The Haves and the Hav...

"Bleeding Rainbow" artist sues Detroit building owner to protect her landmark mural under copyright law

2016-01-05T13:17:00-05:00

For Katherine Craig, the mural is more than a marker of North End’s rising status. The so-called “bleeding rainbow” mural is a cornerstone of her career. And now, since the building’s owner aims to sell or redevelop the property, the artist is taking legal action to protect her work. [...] The federal suit seeks an injunction that would bar the developer from destroying or otherwise altering The Illuminated Mural [...].

Should architecture strive for originality? Can it ever achieve it?

2015-11-23T20:03:00-05:00

...the [Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act] is a [comparatively] recent development. Architecture shares certain myths with art that influence its commercial value, such as that of the singular author and singular work, but these are also relatively recent: Renaissance architects believed the peak of civilisation existed in antiquity, and so imitated ancient ruins. The commercial and social value of “new” and “novel” and even “original” are, arguably, products of modernity.

Photographing public art and architecture in the EU may soon cost you

2015-06-22T18:39:00-04:00

A report proposing major changes to copyright laws in the EU has been adopted by the European Parliament's Legal Affairs committee (JURI) [...] [An] amendment was adopted that stated "commercial use of recordings of works in public spaces should require express permission from the rightsholders." [German Pirate Party rapporteur Julia] Reda said this "could threaten the work of documentary filmmakers and the legality of commercial photo-sharing platforms."

The EU may soon require stricter permissions be met for any visual representation of public art and architecture. So-called "Freedom of Panorama" refers to a set of provisions in copyright law, that allows someone to create and publish images of a piece of art or architecture that's permanently located in the public space, regardless of its existing copyright provisions. The provisions are adopted to varying degrees in different countries – in the US, only buildings are protected under FOP, and in the EU, FOP provisions depend on whether the image is for commercial use or not, as well as the kind of object being photographed.

But soon, the EU may decide to effectively abolish FOP. On July 9, European Parliament will vote on an amended version of its copyright provisions, that states any/all copyright permissions for a piece of public art or architecture must be met when someone publishes an image of it with any potential commercial use. Learn more about the basis and future of FOP pr...

Hey, that's mine! Brian Newman, Archinect Sessions's Legal Correspondent, on who owns architectural designs

2015-02-10T18:28:00-05:00

Archinect Sessions is proud to have Brian Newman of Dykema Gossett PLLC as our official legal correspondent, offering insight into the legal quagmire of architectural practice. Brian is a regular guest on the podcast, dishing out advice to make every architect better informed and protected under the law.

On Episode #1 4, "His bjark is BIGger than his bjite", Brian explains who owns architectural designs, and breaks down some copyright law basics. Listen below:

Or If the above embed doesn't work, click here to listen.

Want to ask Brian something specifically, or suggest a future topic for him to cover on the podcast? Send us your legal questions through connect@archinect.com, #archinectsessions on Twitter, or leave a message at (213) 784-7421.

How pictures of the Eiffel Tower at night violate copyright

2014-11-11T15:06:00-05:00

Indeed, taking a photo of the Eiffel Tower at night for any reason other than personal use is, technically, a violation of French copyright law [...]. A daytime photo is fine—copyright on the structure itself has expired—but night time photos remain problematic because the light show is more recent than the tower itself. Also illegal is taking a photo of the Atomium, Belgium’s most famous tourist attraction [...].

Can Graffiti Be Copyrighted?

2014-09-22T14:05:00-04:00

In July, Anasagasti hired a lawyer and filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit, accusing American Eagle of stealing his work and seeking monetary damages. If it sounds novel to apply copyright to graffiti art, that’s because it is: Lawyers who work in this area say it’s not clear anyone has ever tried this in court. Copyright law, as its name suggests, lays out the rules for when it’s okay to copy something. But does it extend to art that's on public walls?

Copyrighting Cartography with Fictional Places

2014-07-21T14:43:00-04:00

With all the time and energy cartographers spend preparing maps, it makes sense that they would want to protect their investment. One of the ways they do so — although they don’t always admit it — is by including “trap streets,” deliberate mistakes added to maps to catch unsuspecting copyright violators. These may include fake streets, as the name suggests, but the term is also applied to other erroneous cartographic data included to embarrass those who might steal it.

Luis Barragán Homage Tweaks Vitra, the Copyright Owners

2013-11-04T12:16:00-05:00

After passing to the widow of Barragán’s business partner, it was sold in 1994 to a wealthy Swiss couple, Rolf Fehlbaum, chairman of Vitra, the international furniture company and design museum, and the woman who was to become his wife, Federica Zanco, an architectural scholar. In the years since, Ms. Zanco has devoted her life to promoting Barragán’s legacy. But her determination to keep the archive at Vitra headquarters near Basel has rankled many in Mexico...

Houston court awards home design firm $1.3 million in architectural copyright case

2013-05-21T17:11:00-04:00

The jury in the United States District Court in Houston found that Frontier committed copyright infringement by constructing and marketing nineteen houses that infringed Hewlett’s copyrighted designs. Frontier’s owner, Ronald Wayne Bopp, was also held personally liable for Frontier’s activities. The amount of the judgment was based on the amount of profits Frontier earned from the sales of houses that infringed Hewlett’s copyrights.

Design Law & Charity

2013-02-15T18:53:00-05:00

A few weeks ago we reported that the USPTO granted trademark protection to Apple for aspects of its retail store designs (Reg. No. 4277914 & 4277913).

Image above, Reg. No. 4277913 (claiming color)
Image below, Reg. No. 4277914 (not claiming color)

While most architectural works don’t have the notoriety and consumer association necessary to obtain federal trademark protection, architects have long relied on copyright and design patents to protect their creations. Since 1990 when “architectural works” were first incorporated into our federal copyright regime, much has been written about its use and impact. Yet few architects have stopped to consider the role of design patents.

But design patents aren’t new. Architects in the US have relied on them for over a century to protect new, original, and ornamental designs for any article of manufacture. For example, Frank Lloyd Wright was granted numerous design patents on everything from chairs to desk and home designs.

Design ...

Editor's Picks #296- Happy (Gregorian or Julian calendar) New Year's Day!

2013-01-02T01:22:00-05:00

fschlem started a blog The Dirty South...The blog takes it name from a studio titled the "Dirty South," offered at the Georgia Tech. The studio was the brainchild of TVSDesign Distinguished Studio Critic Jennifer Bonner and it’s goal was to look at the city of Atlanta through the filter of the rap ideology of east coast/ west coast/ dirty south, translated to the realm of architecture...Connely Farr thought "wow. really interesting idea for a studio..."

Just like last year, Archinect has begun the transition into the new year by reflecting back on the 2012 by sharing the most trafficked pages in Archinect's diverse online ecosystem, with a list of 12 top 12 lists for '12. As always, they listing the most popular pages from across the site, based exclusively on visits by unique page-views. Released so far are the 12 most visited News posts and 12 most visited Feature articles during 2012.

Tomorrow the 12 top 12 BLOGS,BLOG POSTS and LIVE BLOGS will be announced.

News
Michael Kimmelman reviewed the new Stedelijk Museum and reflecting on it’s design asked "Why a tub?" Thayer-D offered up a few guesses but then gave up and replied "Why IS this museum shaped like a tub?". Orhan Ayyüce added "Building aside, it is a good museum with an excellent director, Ann Goldstein, who was a great curator here in Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art since the 80's. She is one of the best curators anywhere when it comes to conceptual art. Sh...

Lack of Detail No Reason to Deny Copyright Protection to Architectural Works

2012-08-22T14:40:00-04:00

There is no requirement that architectural drawings contain sufficient detail to support actual construction in order to warrant copyright protection under Section 102(a)(5) of the Copyright Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held Aug. 15 (Scholz Design v. Sard Custom Homes LLC, 2d Cir., No. 11-3298, 8/15/12).

In a recent legal case issued by architecture firm Scholz Design Co., against builder Sard Custom Homes, it was confirmed that “Copyright protection of a pictorial work, whether depicting a house, or a flower, or a donkey, or an abstract design, does not depend on any degree of detail.”

Initially, however, in a lower court, the judge decided in favor of Sard Custom Homes, the defendant, claiming the stolen designs were taken from drawings with insufficient detail. When Scholz Design appealed, a higher court dismissed the initial decision, in favor of the plaintiff.

Good news for architects!