Partner
As an architect your designs combine creativity, technical skill, experience and your unique style. You provide your clients with a customized experience and your work product is one-of-a-kind. Whether you focus on residential or commercial, custom design or license plans in bulk, your work and your business need to be protected. Below are three intellectual property tips that will help you keep your business safe from those who might attempt to profit from your ideas and creativity.
One of the most important things you can do to protect your intellectual property is to register your designs as architectural works with the US copyright office. Registering a copyright is a relatively easy and affordable way to not only protect your design but also put yourself in the best possible position for the future if someone does try to use your designs without your permission. US Copyright law protects the owners of copyright registrations by providing for increased damages awards and more options if your work is registered before someone copies it.
You might have a great contract your clients sign when they engage your design services. You are clear about your fees and payment requirements as well as what the client should expect in the work product. But do you have a tight copyright license section? Have you had an IP attorney review your licensing agreements for you? Do you sell your designs online or in a publication? Making sure that your designs are being licensed to your clients not only protects your IP, it protects your clients and your reputation.
The name you use in business is your trademark. Your logo says a lot about your style and approach. These are essential to creating a strong business and brand. It is likely that your clients and potential clients recognize your style by your trademark. Your drawings likely have your name and logo on them. This is how you indicate to the public where your designs come from and the quality of product they are purchasing. Protecting your name and logo with a trademark registration is an essential part of helping your business thrive.
If you have questions about the state of your IP or for a consultation with an IP attorney, feel free to Contact Us today. We’d love to help protect your work and business.
The Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act of 1990 (AWCPA) amended the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 102(a)(8), to expressly include “architectural works” as a category of protectable subject matter. Before the AWCPA, architectural drawings were protectable as pictorial or graphic works, but the constructed buildings themselves were not. The AWCPA changed that—now both the drawings and the finished structure are independently protectable under copyright law.
Under 17 U.S.C. § 120, two important limitations apply specifically to architectural works. First, the copyright owner cannot prevent others from making, distributing, or displaying pictorial representations of a building that is ordinarily visible from a public place. Second, once a building is constructed, the copyright owner cannot prevent the building owner from making alterations or even demolishing it. These nuances matter when drafting licensing agreements and advising clients about what your copyright actually covers.
Copyright protection arises automatically upon creation—you do not need to register to own the copyright. But registration transforms your legal position. Under 17 U.S.C. § 411, you generally cannot sue for infringement in federal court until you have registered. More importantly, 17 U.S.C. § 412 creates a powerful incentive to register early: if you register before infringement begins, or within three months of first publication, you are eligible to recover statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement, plus attorney’s fees. Register after infringement begins and you are limited to actual damages—often difficult to prove and far lower in practice.
For architects, “publication” is construed broadly. Distributing drawings to contractors, submitting them to a municipality for permits, or posting them online may all constitute publication. The practical lesson: register your designs with the U.S. Copyright Office before you share them widely, and do so for every significant project.
Most architects understand that clients pay for a design service, not an outright transfer of copyright. But this distinction only holds if your contract makes it explicit. Without a written agreement specifying that you are granting a license—not assigning ownership—a court could interpret your engagement as a transfer of all IP rights, particularly under the work-for-hire doctrine.
A well-drafted architectural license should specify: (1) the scope of the license, limited to the specific project and location; (2) whether the license is exclusive or non-exclusive; (3) whether it survives termination of the engagement; (4) what happens if the client transfers ownership of the property; and (5) attribution rights. Standard AIA contracts can be a starting point, but should be reviewed and customized by an attorney because default terms may not protect your interests in every situation.
Beyond copyright and trademark registration, architects with a distinctive aesthetic should be aware of trade dress protection under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a). Trade dress encompasses the overall look and feel associated with a source. If your firm has developed a recognizable visual signature—a recurring aesthetic that consumers associate with your studio—that signature may be protectable as unregistered trade dress, provided it has acquired secondary meaning and is non-functional.
The non-functionality requirement is critical in architecture. Purely functional building elements cannot be protected as trade dress—that is the province of patent law. But ornamental or aesthetic choices that identify your work as distinctive from a particular source can qualify. Documenting your style consistently, using your branding on all project materials, and maintaining records of client recognition all help build a viable trade dress claim.
Architecture is both an art and a profession. The law provides robust tools to protect both. If your IP strategy has not kept pace with your practice, contact the intellectual property attorneys at Revision Legal. We work with design professionals to build the legal protections their creative work deserves. Contact us today for a consultation.
Chinese manufacturers can copy your products and undercut your brand in global markets. Here’s how to protect your intellectual property when manufacturing in China.
Read more about Protect Your IP from Chinese Manufacturers
Utility, design, and plant patents protect different types of inventions. Here’s a plain-English overview of the different types of patents and what each one protects.
Read more about Patents 101: The Different Types of Patents
Employees who steal trade secrets, client lists, or proprietary information create serious legal exposure. Here’s how to protect your intellectual property from employee misappropriation.
Read more about Protecting IP from Employee Theft