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You did not pay for the vast majority of the "details" in the plans. An additional project increases the legal liability of the designer, so it is not allowed. There are always specific site conditions that need to be considered by the designer for plans to be safe to use. You don't have the right to replicate the designs or use them to build another home on another site. You can stop working with your designer, you can hire another designer, or you can hire your own contractor to complete the project, and in each scenario you may use the plans. This is similar to having the right to buy and use any copyrighted material. In our case study, you have the right to use the documents created by the designer for your specific project in the same way as you can read a book that is copyrighted by its author. However, you can't edit it or start making copies to sell. When you buy a book, you can read it and keep it on your bookshelf. There is a nuance with plans that is similar to buying a book or movie. Many (but not all, and not even most) designers follow this practice too. Most importantly, what you want as an owner is typically the right to build your project. While a nightmare, this is a communication error that can be easily mitigated, and it is the designer's responsibility to explain why the plans are copyrighted. That's not how typical employer/employee relationships work. The owner's mind is blown! Imagine you just paid thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for someone to work for you, and then they tell you that they "own" what you paid them to do. The owner decides to fire the designer, and the designer says, "This is my design. In reality, the owner has the right to build the project while the designer owns the copyright on the plans.įirst, we'll share an infuriating scenario: Occasionally, an owner hires a designer, they progress through a certain amount of design work, and the relationship or project is just not working out for whatever reason. We’ll explain these issues and how the industry standard works. But that’s not exactly how it works.Īny set of plans comes with liability and copyright issues. Typically, homeowners who hire a designer expect to "own" the plans for their new home or accessory dwelling.
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