Who Owns Those Construction Plans?
Courts have found that an original design of a building embodied in any tangible medium of expression, including plans or drawings, is subject to copyright protection.
Unhappy with the final bid price he received from contractor A, an owner sought out contractor B and provided him copies...
Music Royalties Explained
What are Royalties?
Copyright laws are a necessary facet of day to day life for artists such as songwriters, authors, composers, and publishers in order to protect their exclusive rights to their work. Essentially, they ensure that payments in the form of royalties are...
How To Reduce the Risk of Vandals Graffiti Tagging Your Construction Site
We’re all familiar with graffiti. There’s been plenty of it around for a very long time. Those of us who live in Miami have even seen it develop into an art form. Wynwood Walls has been transformed into an international tourist attraction, exhibiting spectacular and...
Serious Events – Here are Four Ways to Handle Construction Disputes
It’s unlikely to be in the construction industry for very long and not run into a dispute. Disagreements between the parties – owners and contractors, contractors and subcontractors, subcontractors and supply houses – can crop up when one party fails to meet its obligations, contractual...
How Can You Remove a Claim of Lien
Owners are always eager to cancel any recorded liens. What a lot of contractors don’t know is that there are actually legal ways in which a lien can be extinguished.
Notice of Contest of Lien
One way to accomplish this is to serve a Notice of...
Personality Rights In The Digital Age: What You Need To Know
Personality Rights, or Rights of Publicity, used to be a fairly narrow subject. But in the digital age, things have become somewhat more complex. Once solely the realm of movie stars, music icons, and sporting wonders, today’s...
I Sent a Bond Claim/Notice of Nonpayment. Now What?
What happens after you send your Notice of Nonpayment? What steps can you take to increase the likelihood and reduce the time it takes to get paid.
Who is the principal?
The contractor is called the principal in this three-party agreement between the...
How to Transfer Some of That Risk
Three common contract terms—hold harmless, indemnification and duty to defend—are often found together, in statements such as this:
“The undersigned agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless [NAME OF PARTY] against all claims related to the work including but not limited to…”
Most contractors find them hard...
How to Best Keep Your Construction Records
The first thing most contractors think about when it comes to records is retrieving copies of important documents such as contracts, invoices and pay applications. They don’t often think of photographing their work. They should do so, and no less than once weekly, not only...
Lien Release Pitfalls
Lien Release Pitfalls
Many folks don’t understand how important it is and why legally it is essential that you read and understand what your lien release says. We’re going to discuss some very specific things you can do to increase your chances of protecting yourself when...