Oravec v. Sunny Isles Luxury Ventures L.C.

• Decision Date: 24 July 2006
• Docket Number: No. 04-22780-CIV.,04-22780-CIV.
• Citation: 469 F.Supp.2d 1148
• Parties: Paul ORAVEC, Plaintiff, v. SUNNY ISLES LUXURY VENTURES L.C., et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida

469 F.Supp.2d 1148

Paul ORAVEC, Plaintiff, v. SUNNY ISLES LUXURY VENTURES L.C., et al., Defendants.

No. 04-22780-CIV.

United States District Court, S.D. Florida.

July 24, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Michelle A.H. Francis, Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago, IL, Russell E. Levine, Maria A. Meginnes, James N. Nowacki, Reed Oslan, Barry L. Haley, Malin Haley & Dimaggio, Fort Lauderdale, FL, for Plaintiff.

Robert John Borrello, Russomano & Borello, Miami, FL, Herman Joseph Russomanno, Susan Elizabeth Mortensen, Burlington Weil Schwiep Kaplan & Blonsky Penthouse A, Miami, FL, for Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

SEITZ, District Judge.

THIS MATTER is before the Court on the parties' motions for summary judgment [DE-164, 167 and 170] which raise a myriad of issues.¹ Plaintiff Paul Oravec ("Oravec") alleges that Defendants violated the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101, et seq., when they designed, developed and constructed twin high-rise condominiums in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, based on his copyrighted architectural designs. In particular, Oravec has sued the architects of record, their firm, and several developers of the Trump Palace and Trump Royale ("Trump Buildings") on a theory of direct copyright infringement.² Oravec also sued a host of developer entities on theories of vicarious and contributory infringement.³ After hearing the parties' arguments and carefully reviewing their papers, the applicable law and the voluminous record, the evidence viewed in a light most favorable to Oravec establishes that the architects are entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the direct infringement theory. Because there is no direct infringement liability in the case, the remaining derivative theories of liability against the other Defendants fail as a matter of law.

I. INTRODUCTION

This case involves five separate copyrighted architectural designs owned by Oravec. The copyrights are dated 1996, 1997, 2002, March 2004 and April 2004. Summary judgment must be granted in Defendants' favor because, for one or more reasons, each of the five copyrights, even when viewed in a light most favorable to Oravec, does not support a claim for direct copyright infringement. First, none of the Defendants could have copied the 2002 and April 2004 designs because the only alleged copying took place sometime between 1996 and 1998, and in no event could it have taken place after the challenged designs were substantially complete in 2000. Oravec admitted that the 2002 and April 2004 materials were created after the designs for the Trump Buildings were completed. Additionally, Oravec abandoned any copyright protection in the 2002 design when he submitted it to the World Trade Center competition.

As for the March 2004 copyright, it fails as a matter of law because it does not protect Oravec's materials as "architectural works," but only as "pictoral, graphic or sculptural work." As such, the law is clear that the March 2004 copyright does not protect against the construction of the Trump Buildings, even if they were copied from his designs. Rather, the March 2004 copyright only protects that material as graphic designs (i.e., photos, models and similar graphic work) and prevents others from copying his work to create similar pictures or models without his consent. There is no evidence in the record that Defendants' pictures or models, used in their advertising for example, are based on copies of Oravec's March 2004 copyrighted designs.

Finally, although Oravec owns valid copyrights for his 1996 and 1997 designs, and there is a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether the architects had access to these designs, there is insufficient evidence of substantial similarity to send the case to a jury. Considering the evidence in the light most favorable to Oravec, no reasonable jury properly instructed could find substantial similarity between the competing designs.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND⁴

A. Oravec and the Copyrighted Designs

Oravec is an architect from Czechoslovakia. He received his undergraduate degree from the Technical University in Bratislava in 1974. See Deposition of Paul Oravec ("Oravec Dep.") (Def.Ex. No. 16), p. 15. He received a masters degree in architecture from the Technical University in 1976 and was licensed as an architect in Slovakia in 1978. Id. at p. 16. Plaintiff worked in the design field in Europe for about four years until he came to the United States in 1983. Id. at p. 17. Plaintiff has never been licensed to practice architecture in the United States. Id. at p. 24.

After his arrival in the United States, Oravec worked for two architectural firms in New York City for approximately one year. See Oravec Dep. p. 20-21. His work consisted mostly of interior commercial design with some exterior reconstructions. Id. at p. 20-30. After that, he and his family moved to South Florida where he began working for Creative Displays, a company that designs and builds custom exhibits, trade shows and interiors. Id. at pp. 7-9, 20, 32. In 1995, while Oravec was working for Creative Displays designing an exhibit, he came up with the idea of using convex, concave vertically stacked elements, which he later developed into a design concept for a high-rise building. See Oravec Dep., p. 145.

(1) 1996 Copyright

Beginning in 1996, Oravec started registering his building designs with the United States Copyright Office ("Copyright Office"). In all, Oravec holds five certificates of copyright registration. See Plf. Ex. 9-10, 12-14. On July 1, 1996, the Copyright Office issued a certificate to Oravec for material titled "Reverse Horse Shoe Building" and described as "architectural drawings and model." See Plf. Ex. 9 (Copyright VAu 356-079). The certificate covers one multi-view drawing of a single high-rise structure composed of five stacked, alternating convex/concave "banana shaped" segments, or tiers, surrounding three free-standing cylindrical towers. The space between the tiers, in which the towers are located, is "hollow," something like the hole in an oval shaped doughnut when viewed from above. The five segments, or tiers, decease in height from the top to the bottom of the building and create a "peek-a-boo" view of the cylindrical towers when viewed from the front or back. The certificate also covers a related model. The main difference between the model and the drawing is that the model contains only two central towers rather than three. Both the model and the drawing plainly suggest the form of a building, but there are no detailed features included (i.e., balconies, windows, doors etc.). The completion date for these materials is listed on the certificate as 1996. Excerpts from the 1996 design are attached to this Order as Exhibits Al and A2.

(2) 1997 Copyright

The next year, on May 2, 1997, Plaintiff registered additional architectural work with the Copyright Office titled "Reverse Horseshoe Building — Twin Towers" as material derivative of his 1996 copyright. The 1997 copyright incorporates a twin tower design, includes photographs and more detailed drawings than the 1996 copyright. See Plf. Ex. 10 (Copyright VAu 389-810). The certificate covers six drawings and three photos of models. The drawings also depict a high-rise structure composed of five stacked, alternating convex/concave banana shaped segments surrounding three cylindrical towers. The three towers stand in the same type of oval shaped doughnut hole described in the 1996 design and the alternating convex/concave tiers create a "peek-a-boo" view of all three of the towers. Floor plans are included which show that the three towers house elevators and stairs. Except where the towers connect to the building to give elevator access, the towers are free standing with flat tops that extend above the roof line. The three towers stand in a straight line with the central tower appearing slightly wider in diameter than the other two.

The individual floor plans depict a lower parking level with ramps, and higher floors with various residences ranging from studio apartments to four-bedroom units. The photos depict a model, or pair of models, set in a mixed-use background. The models include detailed features such as landscaped terraces, an S-shaped base connecting the twin towers, the suggestion of windows and a circular centralized fountain between the two towers. The completion date for these materials is listed on the certificate as 1996. Excerpts from the 1997 design are attached to this Order as Exhibits B1, B2 and B3.

(3) 2002 Copyright

In 2002, Oravec developed an architectural design for submission to the World Trade Center Competition. Oravec Dep. 392-95. As part of the submission to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation ("LMDC"), Oravec signed a letter "signifying [his] agreement that [he] reserve[d] no patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other intellectual property rights in any of the material that forms or is contained in [his] proposal." See Oravec Dep., p. 394.⁵ Oravec claims that he believed the letter authorized the. LMDC to publish his works. Oravec Dep., p. 142, 393-94. By signing the letter, Oravec believed that he was not abandoning any copyright protections. See Plf. Ex. 11 (Oravec Declaration, dated May 2, 2006), ¶ 2.

Later that year, on November 21, 2002, Oravec received a copyright certificate for architectural work titled "New World Trade Center Towers." See Plf. Ex. 12 (Copyright VAu 571-627). These are the same materials he submitted to the LMDC. See Oravec Decl. (Plf.Ex. 11), ¶ 2. The certificate covers seven photographs of a model very similar to the one in the 1997 certificate. The model possesses the same overall structure as the earlier models, having five alternating convex/concave segments surrounding three free standing cylindrical towers. The 2002 model incorporates what appears to be structural supports with a "swiss-cheese" design, and also...