When you buy land with a development consent, can you assume that you can use the architect’s plans submitted with the consent to build? What if there is a dispute between the architect and the developer - will you be drawn into the litigation mire as a purchaser of the land? A decisive answer to this question can be found in the High Court decision Concrete Pty Ltd v Parramatta Design & Developments Pty Ltd [2006] HCA 55 (6 December 2006).
An architect (or his or her employer), who creates plans owns the copyright in them, whether or not the architect has been paid its fee, unless the copyright is assigned in writing to the client.
Where an architect is engaged to prepare plans and a fee is paid, there is an implied licence to the client to use the plans. However, it has long been assumed that where no fees are paid, no implied licence arises. This assumption was challenged in 2005 in Parramatta Design & Developments Pty Ltd v Concrete Pty Ltd [2005] FCAFC 138; 219 ALR 373.
