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WilliamsMcCarthy LLP litigation partners Marc C. Gravino and Joel M. Huotari recently obtained a favorable summary judgment ruling in a copyright suit involving one of their clients, a Northern Indiana home builder. The client was sued in 2016 by Design Basics and W.L. Martin Designs LLC, which own copyrights to over 2,000 residential home plans. In the suit, W.L. Martin accused the home builder of copying its copyrighted home plan. Defendant denied copying any W.L. Martin plans and submitted evidence that it built its accused home before W.L. Martin even published the plan that it accused defendant of copying.
Based on that evidence, defendant asked the federal district court to throw out W.L. Martin’s claim that it had copied W.L. Martin’s plan. On May 3, 2018, the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Indiana held that defendant’s plan predated W.L. Martin’s and therefore could not be a copyright infringement. The Court issued summary judgment to our firm’s client on that claim.
The ruling is significant because it represents one of the few times that a copyright plaintiff such as W.L. Martin has had a claim disposed of by the court prior to trial on these grounds. Design Basics LLC has sued over 110 residential home builders across the United States, and rarely are any of its claims summarily adjudicated in favor of the defense due to the numerous fact issues that often preclude dispositive motions. The May 3, 2018 ruling in defendant’s favor also is significant because the court is permitted to compel W.L. Martin to pay for defendant’s attorney’s fees, since defendant is a prevailing party under the Copyright Act (17 USC § 505).
Marc C. Gravino and Joel M. Huotari are members of the firm’s Intellectual Property Law Group. They have had the privilege of representing more than 25 other home builders throughout Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Ohio in copyright suits involving Design Basics LLC and its affiliates, including W.L. Martin.
For more information about copyright and intellectual property rights, contact the law offices of WilliamsMcCarthy LLP.
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