Copyright Infringement

Our friendly copyright philosophy

Every house plan whether it is recorded with the federal government or not, belongs to the designer/architect who drew it - this is the law. There are house plans that are truly unique, designed solely by a designer and people should not copy them, and respect the designer and his or her creativity. However, 90 percent if not more of the plans on the Internet exist because someone walked into a designers/architects office and gave them ideas to have a house plan drawn. Because the designer/architect drew the plans he/she is legally able to resale the plans. How fair is that?

I believe that most of the ideas years ago came from people just like you, brought to a designer or architect who then composed them into a beautiful work of art. The designer/architect definitely plays a part in the design, but without the client he or she would not have a job, and certainly not a house plan to sell again and again. Later these house plans show up on the Internet for all the world to see. The designers add a copyright because they forgot why they have the plans in the first place.

I am not condoning the copying of ideas of anything you find on the web, in fact I will tell you that you will get into a lot of trouble if you do - see above. That is why this site exists, to give you a place you can come and gather ideas to help you formulate your dream home. We respectfully ask that you use one of the designers/architects on this site if you should want to have a plan modified or designed to fit your needs. No one from this website will ever pursue you for copyright infringement.

This philosophy does not carry to the individual designer or architect personal websites and content. This also does not apply to designers or architects outside this website. If you are a designer/architect who do not like other people or designers viewing your house plans and ideas, do not take the ideas from the designers and architects on this site. This is very simple, click your back button and leave. If however, you agree with our philosophy, you are welcome to join us and share your ideas with the community. Please call me at 800-834-6198 for more details and setup an account.

Let's look at a few arguments

Years ago when a customer came to a home designer to have a house plan drawn, the customer gave the ideas to the designer and the designer drew the plans. The customer paid for the plans and left with the plan originals. Payment for service rendered.

Then the blueprint machine was invented and later the copy machine and home designers decided that they could sell the plans over and over if they kept the original work. This was a great idea, but never took into account that the origin of the plan ideas came from the first customer.

Some people claim that house plans are similar to books. They both have an author. Yet, a big part that if left out of this argument is the fact that there is a shared ownership interest to a house plan where a customer is also involved. What happened to the rights of the customer? I will tell you. Someone came up with a copyright law that took the rights away from the customer and gave it to the designer.

The copyright laws favored the designer for reasons I do not know. Unlike an author of a book, the part owner (customer) of the house plan is not compensated for their ideas. Why?

Let's look at the sale of a car. The manufacturer builds a car and sells it to the dealer. Dealer1, paid in full. Dealer1 can now sell that car to a customer. Later the customer trades the car into another dealer, dealer2, and the manufacturer is not paid again. Dealer2 then sells the same car dealer1 sold to another customer. The manufacturer does not get paid again, and dealer1 does not get paid again.

That is closer to the house plan issue than the book issue. When a customer purchases a house plan, they should receive the original plan - end of story.

However, if a designer draws his or her own plan to sell, then it can be reproduced just like a book and should have a copyright claim on it because he/she is both the ideas and the drafter. However, knowing how people use the Internet to gather ideas, I would think that putting these plans in front of the world to look at is not wise if you are afraid of someone using the ideas for themselves.

In fact, I am not sure how this designer can even be upset. It's like putting candy in front of a kid. Moreover, the same designers are pushing their plans and telling people how great they are. Explaining all the features... the spacious living room with tall cathedral ceilings that invite you into the grand kitchen...

Well, here at Webside House Plans you are free to rome and free to gather ideas. The home designers associated with this website are here to help you in any way they can. I hope you feel at home here and comfortable with how we do business. Please tell your friends and family to join us here and on the forum. We are very happy to assist you in any way we can.

Learn more about our philosophy

What do other house plan websites demand?

The copyright information below must be held with the highest respect on every other website, even the designers/architects websites networked with the free house plans website.

© The copyright and ownership interests in all Materials is held by the Copyright Owner and is protected by U.S. laws and international treaty provisions. You agree not to use, copy, republish, frame, post, transfer, display, perform, download, transmit, modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, assign, distribute, license, sublicense, reverse engineer, or create derivative works based on the Materials, except as expressly allowed through Copyright Owner. Unauthorized use of any Materials may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, communications regulations and statutes or other applicable laws, rules or regulations, and may subject you to civil liability and/or criminal penalties.

What You Can’t Do

U.S. copyright laws allow for statutory penalties of up to $100,000 per incident for copyright infringement involving any of the copyrighted plans found on production or custom house plan websites. The law can be confusing. So, for your own protection, take the time to understand what you can and cannot do when it comes to home plans.

You Cannot Duplicate Home Plans

Purchasing a set of blueprints and making additional sets by reproducing the original is illegal. If you need more than one set of a particular home plan, you must purchase them.

You Cannot Copy Any Part of a Home Plan to Create Another

Creating your own plan by copying even part of a home design found on production or custom house plan websites without permission is called “creating a derivative work” and is illegal.

You Cannot Build a Home Without a License

You must have a specific permission or a license to build a home from a copyrighted design, even if the finished home has been changed from the original plan. It is illegal to build one of the homes found on production or custom house plan websites without a license.

My Thoughts
That (above) is what you need to follow when searching house plans on every other website on the Internet. Kind of makes you wonder if you are allowed to open your eyes, lest you do something unlawful when having your house designed. I honestly believe designers today are using the copyright law as an excuse not to work hard to compete as the better designer.