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Editor’s note: This article has been updated with statements from Mary Free Bed and Pure Architects.
The former architect of a proposed $60 million pediatric hospital at Mary Liberty Bed Rehabilitation Hospital claims his copyrighted design was improperly passed on to another local firm.
In a federal lawsuit filed this week in Grand Rapids, the Smith Group claims, Jonzechia Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital It is protected by federal copyright and has been improperly copied and reproduced by Grand Rapids-based Pure Architecture and Development PLLC, which took over design and engineering work on the Mary Free Bed project last September.
The Smith Group, which has offices in Detroit and Ann Arbor, claims it was owed license fees and 8 percent of the total cost after Mary Free Bed terminated its contract last September. The hospital has since refused to pay.
According to court documents filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Mary Freebed then “improperly copied, reproduced, prepared derivative works” and “distributed (the Smith Group’s) work without permission.”
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The lawsuit alleges that Mary Free Bed and Pure Architecture (doing business as Pure Architects) “Willfully infringes and continues to infringe SmithGroup’s eExclusive copyright. ” The lawsuit alleges that Mary Free Bed never informed SmithGroup that it planned to share its work or that Pure Architects would use SmithGroup’s design “to generate renderings for Mary Free Bed, including design features substantially similar to those provided to Mary Free Bed by SmithGroup.” .
A Mary Free Bed spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company “cannot comment on ongoing legal matters; we believe the case lacks merit.”
“We are grateful for the community’s support as we prepare to build Michigan’s first freestanding children’s rehabilitation hospital. This state-of-the-art facility will not only serve children in Michigan, but across the country and beyond Provide services.”
Pure Architects also said in a statement to Crain’s Grand Rapids Business that the claims are “completely baseless.”
“As a Grand Rapids architecture firm known for ethical practices and creativity, we would never infringe on the work of others,” Pure Architects’ statement said. “The scope of our design for this project was smaller than the design solution proposed by SmithGroup. approximately 40%, while still meeting all mandatory design standards required by the client and the authorities having jurisdiction over the project. Any suggestion that we are infringing is baseless.”
The lawsuit, which names Mary Free Bed and Pure Architects as defendants, asks a federal judge to declare that SmithGroup’s copyrights have been infringed, issue a temporary and permanent injunction preventing Mary Free Bed from using its work, and award costs and attorneys’ fees.
“SmithGroup is and will continue to be irreparably harmed by the public, Mary Free Bed and Pure Architects’ uncontrolled and unauthorized use of its copyrighted materials in a manner that is not recoverable by legal damages. For example, potential SmithGroup customers in the niche market segment of pediatric rehabilitation facility buildings are likely to be confused by the authorship of Pure Architect’s Rendering published on the Mary Free Bed website.a lawyer for Smith Group wrote in court documents.
“Potential clients in this market may view Pure Architects’ renderings as original works of Pure Architects and not as unauthorized derivative works of SmithGroup. This possible confusion as to the original source of the creative expressions reflected in Pure Architects’ renderings may This will prompt clients in the pediatric healthcare market to turn to Pure Architects who would otherwise go to SmithGroup for architectural services in this field,” SmithGroup said in the report. Court documents.
Attorney John LeRoy of Brooks Kushman PC in Royal Oak represents SmithGroup in the case. Smith Group declined to comment for this story.
Any monetary damages that the court may award in this case”will not prevent or account for Smith Group’s potential loss of reputation and customers in the pediatric rehabilitation market as a result of continued copyright infringement,” the lawsuit states. “This ongoing harm to Smith Group is difficult or impossible to quantify, has caused irreparable harm and has no appropriate remedy at law.”
Terry Linn, a partner at Grand Rapids-based Gardner, Linn, Burkhart & Ondersma LLP who has experience handling construction cases, said architectural copyright litigation is relatively rare. Linn is not involved in SmithGroup’s lawsuit against Mary Free Bed and Pure Architects.
Designing a functional structure involves a “level of similarity” that is not present in copyright disputes in other media, such as paintings or songs, he said.
“The overall design itself can still be completely different,” Lynn said. “There are certain requirements for what owners want to see in their buildings, but the way things are laid out can still be different.”
Linn said the case is easier to prove if the architectural firm on a project has drawings from a previous designer. The next step, he added, is to assess the degree of similarity.
“In any copyright case, evidence of improper acquisition or use of a protected work often hinges on circumstantial evidence that someone obtained a copy, or a copy that was too close to a copy,” Lynn said.
Before 1990, building a physical building based on someone else’s architectural plans generally did not infringe architectural copyrights. Congress passed the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act in 1990, which further protected the copyright of architectural designs from drawings to construction stages.
July 2022, Mary Free Bed publicly announced plans A new pediatric rehabilitation hospital is planned to be located in On the south side of Fuyu Street, opposite the Rehabilitation Hospital campus. The three-story facility will be the first rehabilitation hospital in Michigan dedicated to treating pediatric patients with traumatic illnesses and injuries. The project is a joint venture with Corewell Health’s Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
This project recently received $5 million donation From the DeVos Family Foundation. Construction will begin this spring and is expected to be completed in 2026.
More from Crain’s Grand Rapids Business:
Grand Rapids-based benefit company expands to metro Detroit area
Butzel Long Law Firm hires 8 attorneys to expand into southwestern Michigan
BAMF partners with Corewell Health for clinical trial of advanced cancer treatment
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