Design Copyright: Who Actually Owns Your House Plans? – David Wilson | Home Building Podcast
GUEST
If you’re designing, drafting, or planning a new home, this episode will give you the clarity you need to avoid costly copyright disputes and protect your investment. Design copyright is one of the most widely misunderstood parts of the home building process. Who owns your plans? Can you take your design to another builder? Does changing ten percent actually protect you? And what happens if your builder goes under? In this episode, we sit down with David Wilson from Stratocumulus Legal to break down the real rules around design copyright, plan ownership, implied licenses, moral rights, and the common myths repeated in the building industry.
Chapters
00:23 Why design copyright matters in home building
01:03 Meet David Wilson
01:35 What design copyright protects
02:48 Why people misunderstand ownership
04:07 The ten percent change myth
05:52 What counts as infringement
09:15 Who actually owns house plans
14:10 Implied licenses and how they trap homeowners
18:04 Copying vs independent design
22:04 Shopping plans to different builders
25:00 Real industry examples and legal outcomes
27:10 Builder-supplied free plans and hidden copyright issues
29:26 When a builder collapses: who owns the plans
32:00 Removing logos and moral rights
34:17 How to protect yourself upfront
45:06 Final thoughts
51:30 The 10K Question
01:03 Meet David Wilson
01:35 What design copyright protects
02:48 Why people misunderstand ownership
04:07 The ten percent change myth
05:52 What counts as infringement
09:15 Who actually owns house plans
14:10 Implied licenses and how they trap homeowners
18:04 Copying vs independent design
22:04 Shopping plans to different builders
25:00 Real industry examples and legal outcomes
27:10 Builder-supplied free plans and hidden copyright issues
29:26 When a builder collapses: who owns the plans
32:00 Removing logos and moral rights
34:17 How to protect yourself upfront
45:06 Final thoughts
51:30 The 10K Question
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