AE Blog - Professional Liability Insurance Claims

Although copyright claims are most often brought against  architects, such claims can be made against other design professionals as well. Take, for instance, a civil engineer whose services included site layout and surveying work for a developer constructing a retail shopping center. The developer initially hired a surveying firm to perform the work, and then retained the civil engineer to survey the property and do site work. When the center was constructed, the initial surveying firm sued the developer and the civil engineer for copyright infringement. The civil engineer did admit that he may have seen the previous survey, but said that his work was significantly different from the claimant’s. The matter went to mediation where it was ultimately resolved. The civil engineer’s proportionate contribution to the
settlement was $30,000. Legal fees of $12,000 were also incurred.

The full article, “It’s a Matter of Copyright – Design Professionals Should always Beware” by Ashley L. Hurd, CIC CRM, can be read on the resource section of Hall & Company’s website.