Circuit court rules floorplans in resale listing as fair use
Case Study: Designworks Homes, Inc. v. Columbia House of Brokers Realty, et al.
No. 23-3402 (U.S. Court of Appeals – Eighth Circuit)
The plaintiffs in this case, several home designers, alleged that real estate agents infringed on their copyright by including floorplans of the homes in resale listings. The plaintiffs had registered their copyrights of the particular homes, including photographs and detailed architectural plans, with the Copyright Office. They did not appear to have licensed floor plans for any of the homes. After six years of litigation, the Eighth Circuit Court affirmed the lower court’s decision and held that the inclusion of the floorplans in resale listings was a fair use of the homes’ designs. The ‘fair use’ defense permits certain usage of copyrighted works. The Eighth Circuit gave a detailed analysis confirming that the use of floorplans here fell under the fair use doctrine and the use of the same did not constitute copyright infringement.
Takeaways:
The Court recognized the benefits that floorplans provide to consumers in home sales. It stated that “floorplans in listings….makes it less costly for potential buyers to discover the homes’ layouts and dimensions, tends to increase the number of potential buyers willing to consider buying the homes. The result is that the homes should, on average, resell more quickly or for a higher price than they would absent the use of floorplans.”
Architectural plans or technical drawings of the home may still have copyright protections. Make sure that you only include the interior layout in your floorplans.
About the writer: Prior to joining Illinois REALTORS® in 2022, Victoria (Vicki) Munson was an attorney in private practice focusing on real estate and estate planning matters. She enjoyed assisting buyers and sellers in bringing their transactions to the closing table. Victoria earned her bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University and her Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School.
