Gallery: Architecture's Fine Line Between Stealing and Inspiration

  • Image may contain Tub
    Elisabeth Bernstein
    01

    24-Unfair Use 9-24-1542461

    *Un/Fair Use*, an exhibit up at the Center for Architecture in New York City, looks at the tricky business of copyrighting architecture. These models (there are 50 total) illustrate which shapes and styles can be fairly used, and which ones pose a problem. This "single surface" model, for instance, is up for fair use. OMA, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and MVRDV have all employed it in their designs.
  • Image may contain Drink Milk Beverage Art Pottery and Porcelain
    Elisabeth Bernstein
    02

    6-Unfair Use 9-24-1542479

    Likewise, you can't copyright what the show's curators dubbed the "heroic phallus," used by firms like Foster + Partners and Ateliers Jean Nouvel.
  • Image may contain Lamp Pottery Drink Milk Beverage Art and Porcelain
    Elisabeth Bernstein
    03

    27-Unfair Use 9-24-1542463

    Same goes for the "amorphous blob" typology, seen in designs from Zaha Hadid, Peter Cook, Future Systems, and Massimilano Fuksas Architetto.
  • This model on the other hand shows a building at the center of Sturdza v the United Arab Emirates. Architect Elena...
    Elisabeth Bernstein
    04

    45-Unfair Use 9-24-1542508

    This model, on the other hand, shows a building at the center of *Sturdza v the United Arab Emirates*. Architect Elena Sturdza designed this building for the UAE Embassy. Later, the UAE ceased communication with her and brought on another architect, whose renderings bore a similarity to Sturdza's. Ultimately the case boiled down to whether Sturdza was licensed to practice in the UAE.
  • In the 1988 case Demetriades v. Kaufmann a husband and wife hired a home builder to create an exact copy of a Scarsdale...
    Elisabeth Bernstein
    05

    5-Unfair Use 9-24-1542483

    In the 1988 case *Demetriades v. Kaufmann*, a husband and wife hired a home builder to create an exact copy of a Scarsdale, New York home they admired. The Kaufmans actually got copies of the original home's plans, and took pictures. Because copyright law didn't yet protect architecture, though, the court viewed the house as just an object of use, which cannot be copyrighted.
  • Image may contain Furniture and Crib
    Elisabeth Bernstein
    06

    37-Unfair Use 9-24-1542531 1

    Architectural copyright is difficult because the buildings (or renderings) in question have to go through tests to determine substantial similarity. Doing that can get pretty granular. Even this expressive "diagrid," for instance, is a fair move. Architects like Foster + Partners, Herzog & de Meuron, and OMA have used it.
  • The smooth twist seen in buildings by Santiago Calatrava BIG SOM and Info Based Architecture.
    Elisabeth Bernstein
    07

    10-Unfair Use 9-24-1542431

    The "smooth twist," seen in buildings by Santiago Calatrava, BIG, SOM, and Info Based Architecture.
  • Image may contain Paper
    Elisabeth Bernstein
    08

    13-Unfair Use 9-24-1542440

    And, of course, the "cube," is not copyright protectable—you can't exactly trademark a square.
Read More
OpenAI’s Rogue AI Agent Hacked More Than Just Hugging Face
In a new disclosure, OpenAI says its agent used exposed logins to gain access to at least four “publicly available services” in its unhinged quest to solve a test.
Dell Cameron
A Typo Landed an Innocent Gamer in Prison for 18 Months
How much could a single underscore in a username really matter? Just ask Brandon Klayme, who served 18 months in prison before realizing how authorities arrested, charged, and convicted the wrong man.
Nate Anderson, Ars Technica
Ebay Has to Pay $55.7 Million in Settlement for Its Unhinged Harassment Campaign
For months on end, eBay employees and contractors made life hell for a couple that had criticized the company. Six years later, the company is finally paying up.
Lauren Goode
Laura Loomer’s Reversal on Ukraine Stirs Up the MAGA Civil War
Donald Trump’s base has been increasingly spilt. Laura Loomer’s sudden embrace of Ukraine has only widened that divide.
David Gilbert
Is the Electric Trike the Next Big Thing in Shared Micromobility?
Veo is launching accessibility-focused electric tricycles in Denver, with plans to put its e-trikes on the streets nationwide.
Boone Ashworth
What WIRED Writers Would Actually Give Their Moms
Your mom never gets you a thoughtless gift, so you shouldn’t get her one, either. Here’s every cool gift WIRED writers would give their mothers.
Nena Farrell
Which Apple Watch Should You Buy?
Should you splurge on the new Series 11, or will the SE 3 do? Let us help you figure out which version to get (and which to avoid).
Boutayna Chokrane
12 Adventurous Gifts for Hikers, Backpackers, and Outdoorsy People
Let them pick out their own hiking boots. Instead, try gifting a useful blade or a nature journal to delight your outdoorsy friend.
Scott Gilbertson
A Two-Person Startup Has Fixed One of the Most Hated Sounds in Modern Life
Beeeep. Beeeep. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.
Jeremy White
Can the New York Times Save Journalism From Our AI Overlords?
In 2023, the Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement. They’ve since spent more than $20 million on the case, and publisher A.G. Sulzberger has no plans to stop fighting it.
Katie Drummond
Silicon Valley’s Next IPO Billionaires Are Coming. Nonprofits Are Ready for Them
Anthropic and OpenAI employees are expected to give generously after their companies go public. “It’s going to be a wild ride,” says one nonprofit leader.
Paresh Dave
The Dyson V16 Piston Animal Can Do It All
Dyson’s new stick vacuum can vacuum and mop in a single cordless device—if you’re willing to really splurge.
Nena Farrell