On May 18, 2023 OW&E’s Larry Townsend presented a Zoom continuing legal education program to the Marin County Bar Association entitled “The Intersection of Construction and Copyright Law.” Geared to members of the Construction Law section, the presentation focused on areas where contractors and construction companies face liability if, even unknowingly and where plans are provided by an architect or owner, they infringe when they build a structure which, as built, results in an unlawful copy of an “architectural work” whose design is owned by a third party. The program also covered liability under the Visual Artists Rights Act (“VARA”)which protects artists from destruction or modification of physical copies of their works of art, including those incorporated into buildings (and owned by the building owner), e.g., murals and sculptural works. Construction companies find themselves being sued where they are hired to tear down or tear out, resulting in destruction of artwork, sometimes where contractors are unaware that the building incorporates artwork protected by VARA.
