Category: Articles, Appraisals / Valuations, Architecture, Business & Commerce, Intellectual Property, Real Estate, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts Analyzing Architectural Designs for Copyright Disputes TASA ID: 10524 IntroductionThere’s nothing simple about architectural copyright litigation. Activity generated from The Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act of 1990 continues to increase. The law continues to develop, but factual realities, though seemingly obvious, are often complex and difficult to compare What is an architectural work? It is a building design embodied in any tangible medium of expression, including a building itself, architectural plans, or drawings. Overall form is copyrightable. Exterior and interior spatial arrangements and elements of these arrangements are copyrightable. Individual standard features are not copyrightable. These presuppositions raise further questions. Read more
Category: Architecture, Construction, Engineering Claims Involving the Built Environment: How Architects and Engineers Can Advise Attorneys TASA ID: 971 The built environment is full of hazards, costs and losses from which claims can arise. When an injury or loss occurs in an existing portion of the built environment or during construction, an architect or engineer can provide valuable insight in helping an attorney to sort out the issues associated with the physical conditions in the built environment. Read more
Category: Architecture, Construction, Engineering, Safety Forensic Engineering Investigation of a Long Span Wooden Truss Failure During Erection TASA ID: 1134 With about one third of the long span wood trusses in place for a 60' by 100' building being constructed as a convenience store, the trusses already erected fell over like dominos injuring three laborers. The three workers sued a number of parties involved in the project including the crane rental company and the manufacturer and supplier of the trusses, claiming that they shared responsibility for the accident and that they should have taken action to prevent the collapse. The author was retained as an expert witness for the crane rental company. Investigation and analysis of available facts established that the crane rental company was not responsible and should have had no liability. Read more
