Marlon Blackwell's lawsuit sets the bar for design copyright

Bernstein discusses how Marlon Blackwell's lawsuit sets the bar for design copyright. When the 2020 AIA Gold Medal winner, Blackwell signed on to design what would be the first legal casino in Arkansas, in 2017, he probably had no idea he would end up in a precedent-setting federal case over in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Architectural Record 2022-08, Vol.210 (8), p.35-36
Main Author: Bernstein, Phillip
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Architects
Architectural services
Blackwell, Marlon
Casinos
Intellectual property
Litigation
Property rights
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Summary:Bernstein discusses how Marlon Blackwell's lawsuit sets the bar for design copyright. When the 2020 AIA Gold Medal winner, Blackwell signed on to design what would be the first legal casino in Arkansas, in 2017, he probably had no idea he would end up in a precedent-setting federal case over intellectual property rights. The lawsuit, MBA v. HBG/Saracen Development/John Lane Berrey (the tribe's development company and its CEO) alleged that HBG co-opted Blackwell's design after completion of schematics, worked with the client to terminate the design architect from the project without paying any fees, violated Blackwells copyright, and interfered with his firm's business. Had the case gone to trial, his argument would be a template for other designers who find themselves in a similar fix.
ISSN:0003-858X
2470-1513