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The company initially focused only on rentals. With regard to architectural works, originality can be expressed in the "overall form" and "arrangement and composition of spaces." 17 U.S.C. § 101. I may have not mentioned that on these plans there is a bench in the mudroom that I would like removed." (Defs.' Ex. W). The plans that were emailed had the Compass name and copyright notice on them. Homeowners whohire through BuildZoom's free bidding system report high rates of satisfaction, and homeowners who research contractors online are twice as likely to be happy at the end of their project. The best way to use BuildZoom is to let us recommend contractors for your remodeling projects. BuildZoom is a database of every licensed contractor in the United States.
Compass Homes, Inc. v. Trinity Health Grp., Ltd.
As an innovative residential real estate firm, we empower our agents so they have more time for advising their clients. With the solutions-driven mindset of a startup and the sophistication of a luxury brand, Compass is the future of real estate. Compass Collections is a curated visual workspace that allows agents and clients to collaborate in real-time to organize homes, centralize their discussions, and monitor the market by receiving immediate status and price updates.
Nat'l Ass'n of Minority Contractors v. Martinez, 248 F. 2d 679, 681 (S.D. Ohio 2002) ("If a factual assertion in the pleadings is inconsistent with a document attached for support, the Court is to accept the facts as stated in the attached document."). Nothing in the attachment contradicts the pleadings, or vice versa.
For Subs of Compass Homes Inc.
The court's determination that the Compass plans on the whole are original, for purposes of the presumptive validity of the copyright under § 410, does not preclude defendants from arguing that certain constituent elements of the plans are not original. The McDermotts oppose this argument because they contend that Mrs. McDermott authored much of the floor plans and that, at a minimum, she is a joint owner of the work. They argue that Mrs. McDermott was responsible for "irtually every design element" in the plans. In order to prevail on a copyright infringement action, a plaintiff must establish that it owns a valid copyright and that the defendant copied "constituent elements of the work that are original." Feist Publ'ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Co., 499 U.S. 340, 361 ; see also Kohus v. Mariol, 328 F.3d 848, 853 (6th Cir. 2003).
They worked off of a three-page floor plan that Compass had drawn up (either the floor plans for the Compass-designed house which the McDermotts had seen for sale or a modified version of those plans), discussing changes that the McDermotts wanted to make. According to Braunsdorf, the McDermotts "had minimal comments about the floor plan because what they saw, they loved." (Dep. of Braunsdorf at 331). According to Mrs. McDermott, she and Braunsdorf went room by room, discussing the modifications and additions that she wanted to be made. "Mark and I would mark on there ideas. We can put this here, we can put the toilet there. Oh, can you flip this sink over here?" (Dep. of A. McDermott at 44). Among the other changes that she requested was to make one of the bathrooms handicap-accessible, to move the sliding doors in the morning room to the other side of the room, and to create a niche in the foyer for a large piece of furniture. Braunsdorf and the McDermotts discussed how these modifications would affect the price of the house.
IN CONTRACT – 2438 Farleigh
Creation of, and distributing the Infringing Plans, constructing the Residence based upon those plans, and wrongfully using unauthorized copies or derivatives of the Copyrighted Compass Design in its promotional materials." Doc. 2 ¶ 44. This matter is before the Court on Defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings. For the reasons that follow, the motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part in accordance with this Opinion and Order. With founders Ori Allon and Robert Reffkin at the helm, Compass is led by a team of experienced innovators. These proven pioneers across technology, real estate, marketing, and finance are solving real estate’s most complex challenges.
In the February 16 email, Mrs. Gesing also reported that she had "forwarded the plans you sent to our office to have the guys get them to a scalable size so that I can actually measure the rooms." (Id.). Mrs. Gesing did in fact send the Compass plans to someone at Trinity so that they could "bring it up so that it was an eighth-inch scale or a quarter-inch scale," "something that could draw on top of and measure for size." (Dep. of C. Gesing at 59). A draftsperson at Trinity, likely Daniel Thornton, prepared a "scaled-up" version of the plans. Exterior finish of siding, stone and shaker shingles.
Compass Homes, Inc. v. Heritage Custom Homes
Her first floor plan again featured the same primary rooms and room arrangement as the Compass plan, but with the pocket office eliminated in favor of a larger mudroom. Her first floor plan included room dimensions that were similar to, or sometimes larger than, the Compass room dimensions. The second floor plan had the same rooms and largely the same arrangement as the Compass plan, again with some variation in the arrangement of the master bathroom and closet and of the Jack and Jill bathroom. On December 29, 2011, the McDermotts met with Cinelli and Mark Braunsdorf, the President and CEO of Compass, for an hour to an hour-and-a-half.
Avi Dorfman had previously worked at McKinsey & Company, Lehman Brothers and founded a startup. The company raised $8 million of seed funding from Founders Fund, Thrive Capital, Goldman Sachs as well as several individual investors including American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault, and ZocDoc CEO Cyrus Massoumi. The initial business model employed full-time, salaried brokers, with whom users of the platform could schedule appointments online after searching for listings on the company's desktop or mobile app. The company publicly debuted at an event in May 2013, where then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg helped celebrate the launch.
Request a copy of each insurance certificate for your records before any work begins. For the reasons stated, Defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings, doc. 10, is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part in accordance with this Opinion and Order.
Compass registered the plans as an architectural work, and it maintains that defendants are unable to rebut the presumption created under § 410. The McDermotts met with Pam Cinelli of Compass on December 16, 2011 at a Compass model home in Olentangy Crossings, a community in Delaware County, Ohio where the McDermotts planned to build their home. The McDermotts expressed their desire to have a home of about the same size and with some of the same features as the Compass-designed house which they had seen for sale. At this meeting, the McDermotts and Cinelli went over the features and design elements that the McDermotts wanted, with the goal of determining whether Compass could build the home within their budget. Their efforts "with actual knowledge of Compass's copyrights and despite prominent notices and warnings" on the designs and drawings. With our agents serving vibrant communities across the U.S., Compass is now the country's largest independent real estate brokerage.
Mrs. Gesing's sketches were drawn free-hand, such that she did not trace over the Compass plans. The McDermotts and the Gesings met on February 14, 2012. Mrs. McDermott brought her large binder, as well as the Compass plans.
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