Archinect - News

Never Alone: Video Games and Other Interactive Design finally gives MoMA the chance to showcase its growing video game collection

2022-11-04T11:54:00-04:00

MoMA’s acquisition of games is the responsibility of the Architecture and Design Department, which is focused on objects that are celebrated for their function. Paul Galloway, who has served as the point person for the museum’s video game acquisition efforts, says these multimedia objects are a natural fit for the most omnivorous section of the museum.

The show is open now and runs until July of next year in MoMA's first-floor gallery. Galloway and his co-organizers Paola Antonelli, Anna Burckhardt, and Amanda Forment say their department collects along four central criteria — esthetics, space, time, and behavior — though curatorial efforts to acquire "museum-ready" media are sometimes limited by intellectual property restraints concerning the game maker's original source code.

"It’s a show about interaction design, and video games are some of the purest, clearest examples of interaction design," Antonelli said in a preview. "Games are such complex acquisitions because when you acquire video games, you don’t just go ahead and buy them, you acquire a relationship because you want to make sure that… 50 years from now, curators will still be able to show these games without being bogged by intellec...

California passes new copyright protection law for publicly-available architectural drawings

2022-09-21T15:00:00-04:00

California’s state legislature has passed a bill sponsored by the American Institute of Architects California (AIACA) that will limit public access to copyrighted architectural drawings for the first time.

The recently-signed SB 1214 concerns drawings that were submitted to local and state government offices and will take effect on January 1st, 2023. San Francisco-based architect Cary Bernstein is the member who initiated the act and says it will enhance the protections already provided by the Federal Copyright Act that are not properly being upheld by planning processes within the state.

“The law balances California's Ralph M. Brown Act which ensures the public's right ‘to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies’ with long-standing federal copyright laws that protect architectural drawings,” Bernstein said in a statement. “I happen to love law, and this issue allowed me to indulge my interest through a project for [the chapter].”

Drawings, site plans, and ot...

Marlon Blackwell Architects sues over poached casino design in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

2019-12-31T14:12:00-05:00

The Arkansas-based architect is undergoing a court case regarding his work and designs for the Saracen Resort Casino in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Blackwell filed a suit against HBG Design, Saracen Development and John Berrey, chairman of the Quapaw tribe’s business committee.

A distinguished architect who recently won the AIA's highest honor for his work earlier this month claims that his designs were "stolen." According to a recent report from the Arkansas Times the lawsuit explains, "the agreement wasn’t honored and Blackwell’s copyrighted designs were “stolen” for use on the project and Blackwell wasn’t paid. The suit says further that HBG had “poisoned” the Blackwell firm’s relationship with the Quapaw tribe and Blackwell had been removed from the project."

Max Brantley, of the Arkansas Times, was able to receive a prepared statement from John Berrey, chairman of the Quapaw tribe's business committee.

"We think that Mr. Blackwell is a very talented boutique architect. But function...

Design & the trade war: American architecture firms on the challenges of doing business in China

2019-07-10T08:30:00-04:00

Trade often gets shorthanded to its most tangible form, the flow of goods from one country to another. But the exchange of services is also part of the equation, with building design offering a high-demand example in China amid an extended economic boom there.

Dallas News correspondent Tom Benning highlights the business setbacks two major U.S.-based architecture firms — HKS and CallisonRTKL — experienced while operating in China: from breach of contract, to intellectually property theft, all the way to corporate imposture, these all-too-common challenges are also part of the ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China, which, as HKS chairman emeritus Ralph Hawkins calls it, "such a growing economy, I don't think any firm can ignore it."

When is architecture protected by intellectual property rights? This redditor wants to find out

2017-05-08T12:41:00-04:00

Over on the /r/legaladvice thread on Reddit, user StrangeHomeBuilder asked for some help with a question about intellectual property rights and architecture. Basically, the redditor’s house burnt down due to an electrical fire, which also destroyed all their personal belongings. They had bought the house, which is in “cookie cutter suburbia in California”, brand new, did a few semi-custom adjustments, and “actually had a great time with the home builder.”

After the fire, the homeowner reached out to the homebuilder to see about acquiring the original blueprints for the home or, at least, for the model. They also wanted to see if the original homebuilder would rebuild it for them. Eventually, the homebuilders responded saying they weren’t set up to rebuild and also couldn’t provide blueprints since they were their intellectual property.

The homeowner then went ahead with a “local reputable homebuilder”, attempting to recreate the original home through a combination of cell phone and Fa...

Jean Nouvel's court battle over the Philharmonie continues

2016-12-09T14:33:00-05:00

Taking the view that the owner of the Philharmonie had modified and thus defiled his architectural work, Jean Nouvel had sued ... asking the court to order the owner to perform all works necessary for the restoration of his work so as to comply with the architectural plans he had initially drawn. [...] The case at hand renews the debate on the difficulties of granting remedies which constitute an acceptable way to balance the proprietor's rights and the moral rights of architects.

Get caught up on Nouvel's dispute with the Philharmonie:

Couple sues architect for allegedly copying their dream house

2016-07-08T13:00:00-04:00

The couple claims the firm Pereiras Architects Ubiquitous and property owners Daniella and Ari Schwartz accessed their exclusive plans in property records last August through the Lawrence buildings department — without their permission. “There is no doubt that you have accessed and intentionally copied the plans of the Fortgang residence intending to create a replica of our clients’ home and distinctive exterior,” the Fortgang’s lawyer Steven Stern wrote in a cease-and-desist letter

Rivka and Seth Fortgang from Long Island had their custom 4,400 square foot house built in 2004, in the neighborhood of Five Towns. After learning Pereiras Architects Ubiquitous were building a very similar looking house a mile away, the Forgangs sued. Rivka Fortgang, an interior and exterior home designer, claims that the copycat house has damaged her reputation personally and professionally.

More contentious lawsuits in architecture:

You can steal designs from a 3D printer just by listening to it

2016-03-08T19:11:00-05:00

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have demonstrated a method by which a 3D design could be reverse-engineered by analysing the vibrations picked up from a common 3D printer. [...] a basic recording made with a smartphone could capture enough information to recreate a given object. Data including where the nozzle is, how it moves and for how long it is expelling plastic can be picked up, and recreate designs with 90 percent accuracy.

Can you encrypt live sound?

Architect Eli Attia sues Google for stealing invention that streamlines design and construction

2014-12-14T18:36:00-05:00

The suit charges that Google and senior executives stole Eli Attia's invention, which is a technology that shortens and makes significantly cheaper the design and construction process, mainly for high-rise and large buildings. Google estimates that the invention has potential revenue of $120 billion annually.

Denise Scott Brown and the myth of individual creativity

2013-10-17T21:43:00-04:00

Modern architecture, despite breaking with the past stylistically, nonetheless maintains this image of the gifted architect as a lone autonomous genius who overcomes gravity and prevails over his client [...] Rather than an inner activity done in solitude, it has been found that people often discover their thoughts and ideas through interactions with others [...] The centrality of collaboration in architecture is often overlooked in a culture celebrating and branding “starchitects.”

Referring to recent statistics concerning women in architectural practice and the Denise Scott Brown Pritzker controversy, architect Esther Sperber calls for an overhaul of how we think about creativity and authorship in architecture. Her piece for Lilith, "Revising Our Ideas about Collective Inspiration", argues that what is perceived as "creative genius" relies on cultural and social affirmation, and is therefore a necessarily collective act.

Endorsing D.S.B.'s demand that the architecture community "salute the notion of joint creativity", Sperber's piece recognizes issues of gender inequality within the practice, but is more concerned with the whole notion of individual intellectual ownership -- creativity just doesn't work this way, and prestigious awards shouldn't either.

As creative industries adapt "orchestrated serendipity" strategies to capitalize on collaborative processes, the presumption that intellectual production belongs to any one individual dissolves. Sperber'...

Design Law & Charity

2013-02-15T18:53:00-05:00

A few weeks ago we reported that the USPTO granted trademark protection to Apple for aspects of its retail store designs (Reg. No. 4277914 & 4277913).

Image above, Reg. No. 4277913 (claiming color)
Image below, Reg. No. 4277914 (not claiming color)

While most architectural works don’t have the notoriety and consumer association necessary to obtain federal trademark protection, architects have long relied on copyright and design patents to protect their creations. Since 1990 when “architectural works” were first incorporated into our federal copyright regime, much has been written about its use and impact. Yet few architects have stopped to consider the role of design patents.

But design patents aren’t new. Architects in the US have relied on them for over a century to protect new, original, and ornamental designs for any article of manufacture. For example, Frank Lloyd Wright was granted numerous design patents on everything from chairs to desk and home designs.

Design ...

Editor's Picks #296- Happy (Gregorian or Julian calendar) New Year's Day!

2013-01-02T01:22:00-05:00

fschlem started a blog The Dirty South...The blog takes it name from a studio titled the "Dirty South," offered at the Georgia Tech. The studio was the brainchild of TVSDesign Distinguished Studio Critic Jennifer Bonner and it’s goal was to look at the city of Atlanta through the filter of the rap ideology of east coast/ west coast/ dirty south, translated to the realm of architecture...Connely Farr thought "wow. really interesting idea for a studio..."

Just like last year, Archinect has begun the transition into the new year by reflecting back on the 2012 by sharing the most trafficked pages in Archinect's diverse online ecosystem, with a list of 12 top 12 lists for '12. As always, they listing the most popular pages from across the site, based exclusively on visits by unique page-views. Released so far are the 12 most visited News posts and 12 most visited Feature articles during 2012.

Tomorrow the 12 top 12 BLOGS,BLOG POSTS and LIVE BLOGS will be announced.

News
Michael Kimmelman reviewed the new Stedelijk Museum and reflecting on it’s design asked "Why a tub?" Thayer-D offered up a few guesses but then gave up and replied "Why IS this museum shaped like a tub?". Orhan Ayyüce added "Building aside, it is a good museum with an excellent director, Ann Goldstein, who was a great curator here in Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art since the 80's. She is one of the best curators anywhere when it comes to conceptual art. Sh...

Lack of Detail No Reason to Deny Copyright Protection to Architectural Works

2012-08-22T14:40:00-04:00

There is no requirement that architectural drawings contain sufficient detail to support actual construction in order to warrant copyright protection under Section 102(a)(5) of the Copyright Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held Aug. 15 (Scholz Design v. Sard Custom Homes LLC, 2d Cir., No. 11-3298, 8/15/12).

In a recent legal case issued by architecture firm Scholz Design Co., against builder Sard Custom Homes, it was confirmed that “Copyright protection of a pictorial work, whether depicting a house, or a flower, or a donkey, or an abstract design, does not depend on any degree of detail.”

Initially, however, in a lower court, the judge decided in favor of Sard Custom Homes, the defendant, claiming the stolen designs were taken from drawings with insufficient detail. When Scholz Design appealed, a higher court dismissed the initial decision, in favor of the plaintiff.

Good news for architects!