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ON THE MOVE GREG NORRIS SELECTED AS NRCS CALIFORNIA STATE CONSERVATION ENGINEER The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in California has selected Greg Norris as its new State Conservation Engineer. Norris, who has worked as an engineer for NRCS since 1992, will oversee a staff of approximately 50 professionals. “I aim to improve both internal and external customer service and will look at new ways of increasing work productivity and quality so that our engineering projects continue to set an example for excellence throughout the state,” said Norris.

The NRCS California engineering staff is made up of engineers and technicians that provide service to agricultural operators, government agencies and non-government entities on a diverse mix of projects. Funding for conservation work, that requires engineering expertise, is allocated through the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Small Watershed Program (commonly known as PL-566), or the Emergency Watershed Protection Program. NRCS’s engineers help design or provide technical guidance on approximately half of conservation practices available to customers. These include, but are not

limited to, manure storage facilities, irrigation infrastructure, dam repair and assessments, solar pumps, and erosion control. NRCS’s engineers are sought-after professionals by outside organizations and other government agencies for over 85 years of expertise and guidance. Norris grew up in San Diego, where he attended high school. He received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from Cal Poly Pomona and a master’s degree in agricultural engineering from Oklahoma State University. Norris owns and operates his own farm in Galt, California, managing hay, grain and pasture on 150 acres.

WILLIAM QUATMAN, from page 9

including the copyrights therein, for the reasons stated above. The AIA’s B101 form intentionally omits the phrase “work for hire” because for a work to be considered “made for hire,” the Act requires that the parties state, in writing, their intent that the work is “made for hire.” If an architect agreed that its drawings were “made for hire,” the client might attempt to assert ownership rights over the copyright, just as if the architect were an employee. While not using the phrase “made for hire,” the AIA forms are very specific, however, on who is the “author” and “owner” of the work, including copyrights – it is the architect. WHY DOES IT MATTER? In a 2016 copyright case, the court stated simply: “Architectural drawings are not ‘works for hire’ under the Copyright Act,” noting that it had been held that, “drafting of architectural blueprints does not fit into any of the ... nine categories of ‘specially ordered’ work.” In a 2008 copyright case, the project owner claimed to own the copyrights to the design prepared by an architect, under the work for hire doctrine. The court rejected that argument, however, noting that the AIA standard agree- ment does not make “even a veiled reference to works for hire, nor does [the] contract contain any language remotely suggesting an intention to establish a work for hire rela- tionship.” TAKE AWAYS? While a design firm can retain its copyrights by contract, the firm can just as easily give those rights away – by written contract. Clients that pay large fees to design firms often want to own the work product, with the ability to reuse the design for additions, expansions or even for a totally separate facility. It is a negotiation, and the lawyers drafting these clauses need to understand the difference between ownership of the drawings versus ownership of the copyrights (which are separate legal rights under the Act). So, in the tug and pull of contract negotiations, de- sign professionals should make it clear that regardless of which party owns the physical drawings, 1) the designer retains the copyrights, but merely licenses their use to the client for a single project; 2) the design firm is an inde- pendent contractor (not an employee). These two factors should negate any claim by the client that the design con- tract was a “work for hire,” and protect your copyrights. G. WILLIAM QUATMAN, FAIA, Esq., is general counsel and senior vice president at Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. He can be reached at bquatman@burnsmcd.com.

exception for “works made for hire.” If the work is created by an employee of a company (thus “for hire”), the Act states that “the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is considered the author,” and owns the copyright, unless there is a written agreement to the contrary. This gives the architectural or engineering firm the rights to own designs prepared by their employees in the regular course of their employment. When we are dealing with commissioned architectural drawings, however, most often the architectural firm is an independent contractor (not an employee) of the client. As such, are the drawings subject to the work for hire doctrine? There has been considerable confusion and much litigation on this topic. We can look to the Act, however, for clarity. “Clients that pay large fees to design firms often want to own the work product, with the ability to reuse the design for additions, expansions or even for a totally separate facility.” Section 101 of the Act provides that a work is “for hire” under only two sets of circumstances: 1) when prepared by an “employee” or 2) when prepared by an independent contractor, “specially ordered or commissioned,” but limited to nine specific types of works – and if there is a written contract specifically stating that the work is “made for hire.” Noticeably absent from the list are “engineering” or “architectural” drawings. THE STANDARD AIA CONTRACT FORMS. The standard AIA Owner- Architect Agreement, B101 (2017 ed.) devotes an entire section (Article 7) to the topic of copyrights and licenses. Section 7.2 states: “The Architect and the Architect’s con- sultants shall be deemed the authors and owners of their respective Instruments of Service, including the Drawings and Specifications, and shall retain all common law, statu- tory and other reserved rights, including copyrights.” Clearly, the AIA (and all design professionals for that matter) want to protect the designer’s work product,

THE ZWEIG LETTER June 4, 2018, ISSUE 1251

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