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Couple Sues Neighbors for $2.5 Million for Copying Their House's Architecture
They sued her Tudor
In the tony Toronto suburb of Forest Hill, a couple whose last name starts with "C" have a handsome, multimillion-dollar home designed in the Tudor style. We tracked it down on Google Street View, and found much of the house obscured:
Enter a caption (optional)
Enter a caption (optional)About 800 meters away, on a different street, a couple whose last name starts with "K" renovated their home, also in the Tudor style. That house is a little more visible on Street View:
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Enter a caption (optional)Well, after spotting the renovations the C's then sued the K's, along with the K's architect, builders, real estate agent and contractors for $2.5 million for copyright infringement. As the Toronto Star reports,
According to a 2014 statement of claim, the [C's] say their architect-designed home is "one of the most well-known and admired houses in the Cedarvale and Forest Hill neighbourhoods, in a large part due to its uniqueness." They claim [Mrs. K], who is "in the business of . . . flipping houses," copied their home to increase her property value "while decreasing the value of the Plaintiff's unique house."
Here are some of the issues, according to the Star:
"Homeowners at a Strathearn Rd. house, left, claim a Vesta Dr. house, right, copied their architect-designed home. Wood panels were mounted to prominent gables and window frames were painted blue at Strathearn Rd. The homeowners say this design was copied by [the K's], who purchased, renovated, and later sold the Vesta Dr. house." (Steve Russell/Toronto Star) 
"Raised stonework around the chimney is among the allegedly copied elements from the Strathearn Rd. house, left, at the Vesta Dr. house, right." (Steve Russell/Toronto Star) 
"Strathearn Rd. house, left, and Vesta Dr. house, right, both have a brown front door with an arched lintel. [The C's], owners of the multi-million dollar Strathearn Rd. home, allege their neighbours copied their house design. " (Steve Russell/Toronto Star) 
"Plaintiffs allege the "distinctive blue colour" of their Strathearn Rd. house's wood window frames, left, was replicated on the Vesta Dr. house, right. " (Steve Russell/Toronto Star) 
"[The K's] were inspired by the Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland, which was featured in the James Bond "Skyfall" movie (right) in the re-design of their Vesta Dr. property (centre). But the plaintiffs claim their Strathearn Rd. home (left) is actually what the [K's] modelled their home after." (Thomas Hall & Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star) I looked up the distance between the two houses, and it's not like they're side-by-side:
Enter a caption (optional)With so many houses in the neighborhood, I wondered how the C's even noticed. According to the C's claim, the contractors unwittingly tipped them off: They actually came onto the C's property, explained that they were working on a nearby house, and wanted to study the features of C's house in order to copy them.
The C's and K's eventually settled out of court. The Star contacted Carys Craig, a law professor who specializes in I.P., to ask about the case. Here's what she had to say:
"We often don't think about architecture when we think about copyright, and we often don't think about buildings as works of art," Craig said. "So it might seem like a particularly strange claim to the average person who assumes that if you own a home you can design it as you want."
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Comments
People are batty. So many more important things to worry about. I guess common sense is lost on the wealthy.
First one needs Gargoyles, second one already has them playing in the front yard.
I think all architects realize that their work can inspire others to build the like. The C family needs to have a little generous spirit and should come out of their ‘best-of-all’ shell.
Breaking News: Parthenon architect is suing the White House architect and no one knows why.
Hey Rain... might want to fix "tony Toronto" to say "tiny Toronto" instead. YW
Looks correct to me, check the definition on Merriam-Webster
Tiny isn't the first adjective that comes to mind thinking about Toronto!
TIL tony isn't just a tiger.
Well look at that! I learned a new word.
Sidenote: I was assuming he was being tongue-in-cheek calling it tiny. Guess not!