Saturday, 8 January 2005 | bengisu
Architecture firm claims home designs were copied
By SCOTT BARANCIK, Times Staff Writer
Did Tampa home builder Walter Industries copy house designs drafted by an architectural firm?
That's what Frank Betz Associates of Smyrna, Ga., alleges in two lawsuits filed in South Carolina federal court.
A suit filed Dec. 6 claims Walter's Bayview model is "nearly a line-for-line copy" of Betz's three-bedroom, two-bath Branell design. Betz says subsidiary Jim Walter Homes tried to cover itself by "surreptitiously" getting a license for the Branell design eight months or so after introducing the Bayview.
The other suit, filed in March 2003, says Jim Walter's Chadwick home is "virtually identical" to Betz's Meriwether design, except for some changes that made Chadwick "simpler and cheaper to build." Those changes allegedly include removal of a basement, fireplace and bay window.
Walter Industries senior vice president Joe Troy declined to comment on the litigation. As of Friday, the company had not responded to the newest suit.
But in documents filed in the Chadwick case, Walter's attorney vigorously denied the allegations. He also argued that Betz's copyrights on the Meriwether drawings were not "protectable," that Betz did not act quickly enough to protect the copyright, and that Jim Walter Homes' actions were proper under the doctrine of "fair use."
As punishment for Jim Walter Homes' alleged transgressions, Betz wants the company to stop selling the offending homes and hand over all profits from prior sales; according to Betz outside counsel Wallace Lightsey, Jim Walter has sold roughly 500 Chadwick homes over the years.
According to court documents, Betz also might seek veto control over future resales of the 500 homes.
December 20, 2004
|
