Builder vindicated in copyright case

Two area homebuilders recently battled in state and federal court over an unusual allegation. One builder, Manatee County-based Medallion Home, accused the other builder, Tivoli Homes of Sarasota, of stealing its copyright protected architectural drawings of a new house.

Tivoli Homes and a co-defendant, Sarasota-based Start to Finish Drafting, won the lawsuit and an appeal in federal court, in a case initially filed in 2013. “The victories, both at the trial court and appellate levels, represent full vindication for our clients,” says Christopher Staine, an attorney with the Sarasota office of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick.

Copyright infringement allegations are fairly ordinary in any industry, even homebuilding, but typically only get to trial when the allegations are particularly egregious. What made this case standout is the home plans in question are for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a great room — as common in Florida as mosquitoes. “There are only so many ways you can build a three-two with a great room,” Staine tells Coffee Talk. “It's a pretty ubiquitous model.”