Facts
Patrick Devanthéry, an architect, designed a project for the construction of contiguous villas for landowners (the clients). Devanthéry's project obtained a preliminary building permit. Subsequently, the clients mandated another architect, Jean-Pierre Niederhauser, to submit a final building permit application. Devanthéry then filed a lawsuit, alleging that Niederhauser's project used elements of his initial project in a way that infringed his copyright.
The Court of Justice of the Canton of Geneva dismissed Devanthéry's claim. He then appealed to the Federal Tribunal.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed the appeal and upheld the contested judgment. It considered that Devanthéry's plans constituted a work protected by copyright. However, the Tribunal found that although Niederhauser was inspired by Devanthéry's project, he had modified it substantially, so that the elements borrowed from the initial work were relegated to the background of his own creation. This was therefore a "free use" of Devanthéry's work, which did not infringe his copyright.
The Tribunal specified that the concept of…