Floor plans are a key part of real estate listings, providing fundamental information about the layout of a building to prospective buyers or renters. But home designer Charles James and his company Designworks Homes, Inc. filed a lawsuit in 2018 raising questions about what permissions might be required to include such plans in listings. In Designworks Homes, Inc. v. Columbia House of Brokers Realty, Inc., the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals resolved the question in a significant decision for real estate professionals by affirming that using home floorplans in resale listings can qualify as fair use under copyright law.
James created and obtained copyright registrations for architectural plans for homes featuring a distinctive triangular atrium. When real estate agents included hand-drawn floorplans of these homes in online listings, James sued for copyright infringement. Initially, the district court ruled that the floorplan drawings fell within an exception of the Copyright Act that exempts pictures, paintings, photographs or other pictorial representations of an architectural work if it is visible from a public place. The appeals court rejected that theory and remanded the case for further development, observing that a fair use defense might apply. The case found its way back to the Eighth Circuit after the district court granted summary judgment on the basis of the defendants' fair use.
On appeal, the court sided with the agents, emphasizing that the floorplans were not copied verbatim but were independently created to help market the homes. The judges found that the use was transformative: it served a different purpose (marketing, not architectural replication), and ultimately benefited the public by providing information. The fact that the agents used the plans for commercial purposes did not change that analysis. It also did not harm the market for the original works. Importantly, the court noted that James had not licensed the floorplans for resale use, weakening his claim of market harm.
This ruling reassures real estate professionals that including basic floorplans in listings—especially when created independently—is likely a defensible, and permissible, fair use.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
