Legal

The following statement is provided by the Council of Publishing Home Designers, in affiliation of the American Institute of Building Design.

HOME PLANS ARE COPYRIGHTED

Just like books, movies and songs, federal copyright laws protect the intellectual property of architects and home designers.

These legal protections exist to protect all parties. Copyright laws respect and support the intellectual property of the original architect or designer, and prevent anyone from using the design without written permission.

DON’T USE PLANS TO BUILD MORE THAN ONE HOUSE

All home plans include a copyright release and a license to use the documents to construct a single home. When you purchase construction documents, we, as licensor, are granting to you, as licensee, the right to use the documents to construct a single unit.

This is an exclusive license, which may not be resold, duplicated, published or distributed without written permission of the designer,architect or publisher.

REPRODUCING BLUEPRINTS

Construction blueprints may not be reproduced without prior written consent of the designer or publisher. If additional sets are required for estimating or construction, please contact us for additional sets at a nominal cost. Copy shops and blueprinters are prohibited from making copies of these copyrighted documents.

MAKING DESIGN MODIFICATIONS

As a plan licensee, you may customize the design to fit your personal preferences, but you must understand that the modification of the plan is performed at your own risk and should be reviewed by a professional architect, home designer or engineer prior to the start of construction.

Modified plans are considered “derivative works” of the original, and it is critical that you understand that these “derivative works,” as well as the original work, still retain copyright protection.

Any “derivative work” or revised design, even if completely redrawn, may not be sold, duplicated, distributed or used to construct any units without the purchase of a license from the publisher, architect or designer.

DON’T COPY DESIGNS/FLOOR PLANS FROM THIS WEB SITE OR ANY OTHER PUBLICATION, ELECTRONIC MEDIUM OR EXISTING HOME

It is illegal to copy home designs found in any plan book, on a CD-ROM or on the Internet. It is a common misunderstanding that it is permissible to copy, adapt or change a floor plan or a design found in this book. It is not!

It is also illegal to copy any existing home that may have been built, that is protected by copyright, even if you have never seen the plans for the home. If a particular home plan or existing home is desired, a set of plans must be purchased from an authorized source.

USING THE HOME PLANS

As a plan licensee, you may lend the home plans to third parties builders, contractors, sub-contractors, inspectors, governmental agencies, etc.) as necessary to assist in the construction of the dwelling involved. All such lent plans must be retrieved and destroyed, except for the owner’s reference sets, and those sets required by governmental agencies, after such assistance has been completed.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT?

All parties, including the purchasers, designers, drafters, home owners, builders, contractors, sub-contractors, copy shops and blueprinters may be responsible if a copyright is violated. It does not matter whether an individual knows that a violation is being committed.

You’ve heard it before: ignorance of the law is not a valid defense! To avoid legal complications and damages, it is critical that you be certain of the original
plan source, and refuse to be a party to any illicit copying or borrowing of designs, derivative works, prints and design features.

PLEASE RESPECT HOME DESIGN COPYRIGHTS

In the event of any suspected violation of a copyright, or if there is any uncertainty about the plans purchased, the publisher, architect or designer should be contacted before proceeding.

If a violation of a home designer’s copyright is suspected, the designer or architect, and the Council of Publishing Home Designers should be contacted. Awards are sometimes offered for information about home design copyright infringement.

PENALTIES FOR INFRINGEMENT

Penalties for violating a copyright may be very severe. The responsible parties are required to pay the designer or architect’s actual damages (which may be substantial), plus any profits made. The copyright law also allows the designer or architect to recover statutory damages, which may be as high as $100,000.

Finally, the infringer may be required to pay the architect or designer’s reasonable legal fees, which often exceed the damages.

For more information:

US Copyright Office Official Site
U.S. Copyright Office
A part of the Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave. S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
Telephone (202) 707-3000

The aibdiowa.org Web Site (the “Site”) is an online information service provided by AIBD Iowa (“aibdiowa.org “), subject to your compliance with the terms and conditions set forth below. PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE. BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FORTH BELOW. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, YOU MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE THE SITE. aibdiowa.org MAY MODIFY THIS AGREEMENT AT ANY TIME, AND SUCH MODIFICATIONS SHALL BE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY UPON POSTING OF THE MODIFIED AGREEMENT ON THE SITE. YOU AGREE TO REVIEW THE AGREEMENT PERIODICALLY TO BE AWARE OF SUCH MODIFICATIONS AND YOUR CONTINUED ACCESS OR USE OF THE SITE SHALL BE DEEMED YOUR CONCLUSIVE ACCEPTANCE OF THE MODIFIED AGREEMENT.

1. Copyright, Licenses and Idea Submissions.

The entire contents of the Site are protected by international copyright and trademark laws. The owner of the copyrights and trademarks are aibdiowa.org, its affiliates or other third party licensors. YOU MAY NOT MODIFY, COPY, REPRODUCE, REPUBLISH, UPLOAD, POST, TRANSMIT, OR DISTRIBUTE, IN ANY MANNER, THE MATERIAL ON THE SITE, INCLUDING TEXT, GRAPHICS, CODE AND/OR SOFTWARE. You may print and download portions of material from the different areas of the Site solely for your own non-commercial use provided that you agree not to change or delete any copyright or proprietary notices from the materials. You agree to grant to aibdiowa.org a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license, with the right to sub-license, to reproduce, distribute, transmit, create derivative works of, publicly display and publicly perform any materials and other information (including, without limitation, ideas contained therein for new or improved products and services) you submit to any public areas of the Site (such as bulletin boards, forums and newsgroups) or by e-mail to aibdiowa.org by all means and in any media now known or hereafter developed. You also grant to aibdiowa.org the right to use your name in connection with the submitted materials and other information as well as in connection with all advertising, marketing and promotional material related thereto. You agree that you shall have no recourse against aibdiowa.org for any alleged or actual infringement or misappropriation of any proprietary right in your communications to aibdiowa.org.

TrafficServer 1.01 TRADEMARKS.

Publications, products, content or services referenced herein or on the Site are the exclusive trademarks or servicemarks of aibdiowa.org. Other product and company names mentioned in the Site may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

2. Use of the Site.

You understand that, except for information, products or services clearly identified as being supplied by aibdiowa.org, aibdiowa.orgdoes not operate, control or endorse any information, products or services on the Internet in any way. Except for aibdiowa.org- identified information, products or services, all information, products and services offered through the Site or on the Internet generally are offered by third parties, that are not affiliated with aibdiowa.org a. You also understand that aibdiowa.org cannot and does not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading through the Site will be free of infection or viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other code that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to the Site for the reconstruction of any lost data.

YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND THE INTERNET. aibdiowa.org PROVIDES THE SITE AND RELATED INFORMATION “AS IS” AND DOES NOT MAKE ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS OR ENDORSEMENTS WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR NONINFRINGEMENT, OR THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE) WITH REGARD TO THE SERVICE, ANY MERCHANDISE INFORMATION OR SERVICE PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE OR ON THE INTERNET GENERALLY, AND aibdiowa.org SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY COST OR DAMAGE ARISING EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM ANY SUCH TRANSACTION. IT IS SOLELY YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO EVALUATE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS AND USEFULNESS OF ALL OPINIONS, ADVICE, SERVICES, MERCHANDISE AND OTHER INFORMATION PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE OR ON THE INTERNET GENERALLY. aibdiowa.org DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SERVICE WILL BE CORRECTED.

YOU UNDERSTAND FURTHER THAT THE PURE NATURE OF THE INTERNET CONTAINS UNEDITED MATERIALS SOME OF WHICH ARE SEXUALLY EXPLICIT OR MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO YOU. YOUR ACCESS TO SUCH MATERIALS IS AT YOUR RISK. aibdiowa.org HAS NO CONTROL OVER AND ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR SUCH MATERIALS.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

IN NO EVENT WILL aibdiowa.org BE LIABLE FOR (I) ANY INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INDIRECT DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF PROGRAMS OR INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, OR ANY INFORMATION, OR TRANSACTIONS PROVIDED ON THE SERVICE, OR DOWNLOADED FROM THE SERVICE, OR ANY DELAY OF SUCH INFORMATION OR SERVICE. EVEN IF aibdiowa.org OR ITS AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR (II) ANY CLAIM ATTRIBUTABLE TO ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR OTHER INACCURACIES IN THE SERVICE AND/OR MATERIALS OR INFORMATION DOWNLOADED THROUGH THE SERVICE. BECAUSE SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH STATES, aibdiowa.org LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

aibdiowa.org makes no representations whatsoever about any other web site which you may access through this one or which may link to this Site. When you access a non-aibdiowa.org web site, please understand that it is independent from aibdiowa.org, and that aibdiowa.org has no control over the content on that web site. In addition, a link to a aibdiowa.org web site does not mean that aibdiowa.org endorses or accepts any responsibility for the content, or the use, of such web site.

3. Indemnification.

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless aibdiowa.org, its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, suppliers and any third party information providers to the Service from and against all losses, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from any violation of this Agreement (including negligent or wrongful conduct) by you or any other person accessing the Service.

4. Third Party Rights.

The provisions of paragraphs 2 (Use of the Service), and 3 (Indemnification) are for the benefit of aibdiowa.org and its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, suppliers, and any third party information providers to the Service. Each of these individuals or entities shall have the right to assert and enforce those provisions directly against you on its own behalf.

5.Term; Termination.

This Agreement may be terminated by either party without notice at any time for any reason. The provisions of paragraphs 1 (Copyright, Licenses and Idea Submissions), 2 (Use of the Service), 3 (Indemnification), 4 (Third Party Rights) and 6 (Miscellaneous) shall survive any termination of this Agreement.

6.Miscellaneous.

This Agreement shall all be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of The United States of America applicable to agreements made and to be performed in The United States of America. You agree that any legal action or proceeding between aibdiowa.org and you for any purpose concerning this Agreement or the parties’ obligations hereunder shall be brought exclusively in a federal or state court of competent jurisdiction sitting in The United States of America . Any cause of action or claim you may have with respect to the Service must be commenced within one (1) year after the claim or cause of action arises or such claim or cause of action is barred. aibdiowa.org’s failure to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. Neither the course of conduct between the parties nor trade practice shall act to modify any provision of this Agreement. aibdiowa.org may assign its rights and duties under this Agreement to any party at any time without notice to you.

Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.