Thou Shalt Not Steal Building Plans

       Bickimer Homes began in a time when cell phones were a figment of Martin “Marty” Cooper’s imagination and architects painstakingly drew house plans by hand on vellum paper that were then reproduced as blueprints.  Professional pride in the creation of these plans was the rule rather than the exception.  It was a rare thing for a competing architect or builder to “borrow” another’s work.  Nevertheless, it did occasionally happen and architects and builders began to protect their plans by copyrighting them.  Why?  An artistically appealing, original building plan is essential for the success of a builder’s business.  Much like Joe’s Kansas City BBQ has their secret sauce, these plans are the “secret sauces” builders use to produce homes the public wants to buy.

      Today, building plans are computer generated by contractor software, but it is still the ideas and imagination of the homebuilder and its architect that drive the designs that support a builder’s sales.  That’s why plans are still copyrighted, and why it is a serious breach of the law, not to mention ethics, when someone “borrows” those plans without permission.  Today’s impersonal technology and easy access to readily available information on social media can sometimes obscure a person’s understanding that the American Dream is sullied every time this kind of theft occurs.

Bickimer Homes pledges to always be respectful of the creative ownership of our industry’s architects and builders.  We work hard, our architects work hard, to bring our own home designs to market while striving to meet your vision of the American Dream.  We like to think professional pride is still relevant in today’s world.