I thought some people here might find the stories above interesting....
Basically Eric rescued WTC drawings from the trash and is trying to sell them. Yamasaki's creditors are trying to go after him for a piece of the pie.
The bankruptcy was pretty bad, many employees were working for free and never got paid for weeks of work, 401k funds were diverted, and I think the president fled the country.
Miles Jaffe
Aug 17, 15 9:41 am
Gold rush. LOL
Carrera
Aug 17, 15 11:43 am
As I read it, he was given the drawings before they declared bankruptcy. I would get a letter from the archives guy certifying the circumstances….it’s different if you declare bankruptcy, then take something of value home.
quizzical
Aug 17, 15 12:06 pm
I suspect this topic is going to get all wrapped-around-the-flagpole with respect to copyright law and how that law applies to this specific set of facts. Could get really complicated, since Robert Szantner seems to be claiming ownership to all of the old Yamasaki firm's "intellectual property".
Cue Richard .... !
shellarchitect
Aug 17, 15 12:17 pm
does szantner's possible copyright extend to the possession of physical drawings?
I don;t know a lot about copyright law...
MikeJarosz
Aug 17, 15 2:13 pm
Sounds like he has a set of prints....not original drawings. I remember using a set of prints of the original Yamasaki WTC site when I was at SOM. I was working on site plans for the new WTC and I needed site coordinates of the original towers. To my annoyance, Yamasaki used NAD 27, we were using NAD 83 and the Port Authority had their own system that put the Hudson River at elevation +300. Has anyone checked with the Port Authority? They have offices and storerooms all over the NYC area. A set might be lying forgotten somewhere in a Secaucus warehouse. Not so far fetched. We found the original ink on linen McKim Meade and White drawings of the Farley Post Office in a dusty storeroom in the half-empty building. Who would have thought?
Those WTC prints that I used may still be around. Like every other architecture firm, there are piles of paper at SOM that no one owns, but are afraid to toss.
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/life/home-garden/2015/08/06/wtc-blueprints/31248539/
http://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2015/08/14/yamasaki-architecture-dumouchelles-auction-world-trade-center/31721785/
I thought some people here might find the stories above interesting....
Basically Eric rescued WTC drawings from the trash and is trying to sell them. Yamasaki's creditors are trying to go after him for a piece of the pie.
The bankruptcy was pretty bad, many employees were working for free and never got paid for weeks of work, 401k funds were diverted, and I think the president fled the country.
Gold rush. LOL
As I read it, he was given the drawings before they declared bankruptcy. I would get a letter from the archives guy certifying the circumstances….it’s different if you declare bankruptcy, then take something of value home.
I suspect this topic is going to get all wrapped-around-the-flagpole with respect to copyright law and how that law applies to this specific set of facts. Could get really complicated, since Robert Szantner seems to be claiming ownership to all of the old Yamasaki firm's "intellectual property".
Cue Richard .... !
does szantner's possible copyright extend to the possession of physical drawings?
I don;t know a lot about copyright law...
Sounds like he has a set of prints....not original drawings. I remember using a set of prints of the original Yamasaki WTC site when I was at SOM. I was working on site plans for the new WTC and I needed site coordinates of the original towers. To my annoyance, Yamasaki used NAD 27, we were using NAD 83 and the Port Authority had their own system that put the Hudson River at elevation +300. Has anyone checked with the Port Authority? They have offices and storerooms all over the NYC area. A set might be lying forgotten somewhere in a Secaucus warehouse. Not so far fetched. We found the original ink on linen McKim Meade and White drawings of the Farley Post Office in a dusty storeroom in the half-empty building. Who would have thought?
Those WTC prints that I used may still be around. Like every other architecture firm, there are piles of paper at SOM that no one owns, but are afraid to toss.