Dan Wilson Homes Wins Copyright Infringement Court Case

A home builder in Lubbock has won a copyright infringement court case.

Architect Marshall Hunn sued Dan Wilson Homes of Lubbock, claiming that the company infringed copyrighted house plans.

On January 29^th, 2014, District Judge Sam R. Cummings ruled that Dan Wilson Homes and draftsman Ben Lack did not infringe the house plans. Judge Cummings also ruled that Hunn is to pay Wilson and Lack’s attorneys’ fees.

According to a press release from the law firm of McCleskey, Harriger, Brazill, and Graf, Hunn Designs was hired to draft plans for multiple custom homes, and Mr. Lack was the draftsman that was assigned to work with Wilson on the projects.

Before the plans were completed, Lack left Hunn Designs and opened his own drafting firm. The law firm says that Wilson attempted to complete the plans with Hunn Designs, but claimed that the company did not respond and the work was never completed.

Dan Wilson Homes hired Lack to finish the plans, which prompted the lawsuit.

“Mr. Hunn claimed he owned the copyright to the plans even though the homeowners themselves had essentially designed their dream homes and hired Mr. Wilson to turn their visions into reality,” said Marion Sanford, a partner in the McCleskey Law Firm. “Mr. Hunn’s job was simply to translate the homeowners’ layman drawings into architectural plans. The plans never belonged to Mr. Hunn, nor were they his creation.”

Lead Attorney Dustin Burrows said “The judge’s finding that Dan Wilson Homes had an implied license to finish the plans is noteworthy. That’s been danced around before in the architectural world but I’ve never seen it decided so clearly.”