LGS Architects, Inc. v. Concordia Homes of Nevada

We must decide whether an architectural firm is entitled to a preliminary injunction prohibiting a client from using its copyrighted designs on projects that fall outside the scope of their licensing agreement.

I.

In November 2001, LGS Architects, Inc. (“LGS”) and Concordia Homes of Nevada (“Concordia”) entered into a licensing agreement that authorized Concordia to use two of LGS’s architectural plans to construct Arbor Glen I, a master-planned community of eighty houses in northwestern Las Vegas. The parties later signed two “Additional Service” agreements, each of which authorized Concordia to use another of LGS’s architectural plans in the construction of Arbor Glen I. LGS has registered all four of these plans with the United States Copyright Office.

The licensing agreement is based upon the language of the American Institute of Architects’ Standard Form of Agreement for Residential Projects, and it provides that

Licensing Agreement (“Licensing Agr.”) Ex. A ¶13.1. The licensing agreement’s Standard Rate Schedule establishes a “reuse fee” of “$3,600.00 plus $60.00 / unit plotted” “for using plans developed under this contract in locations other than the original location”…