IP Law Daily, COPYRIGHT—S.D. Tex.: Architectural firm can proceed with infringement claims against real estate firm, (Nov 7, 2025)

By Ravindra Kumar Singh, B.L.

Court finds sufficient allegations of vicarious infringement against real estate brokerage and broker in architectural copyright dispute.

The federal district court in Houston, Texas, denied a motion to dismiss filed by a real estate brokerage firm and its managing member in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by an architectural design firm. The court found that the plaintiff, AIS Designs Co. plausibly alleged vicarious copyright infringement claims against Spirit Real Estate Group, LLC, and Bryan Keith Bjerke arising from the unauthorized copying and sale of its architectural work “AIS Designs-Quick Residence” (AIS Designs Co. v. Top Tier Custom Homes, LLC., No. 4:25-cv-02631 (S.D. Tex. Nov. 5, 2025)).

Background. The plaintiff, AIS Designs Co. (“AIS”) is a Texas-based architectural firm. It creates and licenses original designs for single-family custom homes. The defendants included homebuilders, design firms, and real estate professionals collectively involved in constructing, designing, marketing, and selling the allegedly infringing homes.

AIS alleged that it created and registered the architectural design “AIS Designs-Quick Residence,” a custom residential plan, under U.S. Copyright Registration No. VA 2-350-758, effective June 9, 2023. Using these plans, JJS constructed a home for clients Carol and Michael Quick at 15685 Connie Lane, Montgomery, Texas. The plans contained copyright management information (“CMI”) identifying AIS as the owner.

AIS filed this lawsuit asserting direct, contributory, and vicarious copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq., and violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. § 1202 et seq. The company sought injunctive relief, destruction of infringing materials, and monetary damages.

The instant dismissal motion was filed by Spirit Real Estate Group, LLC, and its managing broker, Bryan Keith Bjerke, who were among the defendants and were allegedly involved in marketing and selling the homes built from the plaintiff's copyrighted architectural designs.

Standard of review and analysis. Because Spirit and Bjerke had already filed an answer before moving to dismiss, the court treated this motion as one for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c), applying the same plausibility standard as under Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 127 S. Ct. 1955 (2007), and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937 (2009). The court reiterated that a complaint need only allege sufficient facts to raise a right to relief above a speculative level and to state a claim that is plausible on its face.

The court reviewed the distinction between direct and secondary infringement, citing BWP Media USA, Inc. v. T&S Software Associates, Inc., 852 F.3d 436 (5th Cir. 2017). Direct infringement requires proof of ownership of a valid copyright and unauthorized copying of original elements, as established in Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 111 S. Ct. 1282 (1991).

Secondary liability encompasses contributory and vicarious infringement. The court cited Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 125 S. Ct. 2764, 2776 (2005), which defines vicarious liability as arising when a defendant profits directly from the infringement and has the ability to supervise or stop it. The court also relied on Meadowgreen Music Co. v. Voice in the Wilderness Broadcasting, Inc., 789 F. Supp. 823 (E.D. Tex. 1992) to reaffirm the principle that a corporate officer may be vicariously liable if they benefit financially from and have control over infringing activity.

Contributory infringement. The court noted that AIS had not alleged contributory infringement against Spirit or Bjerke. Citing the plaintiff’s pleadings, the court stated that it “cannot dismiss a claim that the plaintiff is not making.”

Vicarious infringement. Here, the court found that AIS adequately alleged both elements of vicarious infringement. First, AIS claimed that Spirit and Bjerke expected commissions from the sale of two homes built using infringing designs, establishing a direct financial interest. Citing Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards v. Mendez Master Training Center, Inc., 393 F. Supp. 3d 557 (S.D. Tex. 2019), the court held that the “expectation of commissions” satisfies the financial-interest requirement.

Second, AIS alleged that Bjerke, as Spirit's managing member and Valleri Salazar's sponsoring broker, could supervise or prevent the infringing sales but failed to do so. The court relied on Stross v. PR Advisors, LLC, No. 3:19-CV-1086-G, 2019 WL 5697225 (N.D. Tex. Oct. 31, 2019), which held that a managing officer with supervisory authority over a business’s infringing activity can be vicariously liable. The court concluded that if proven, AIS’s allegations would demonstrate both defendants’ financial and supervisory roles sufficient to sustain vicarious infringement claims.

Prior proceedings. Spirit and Bjerke relied on AIS Designs Co. v. J.J.S. Custom Built Homes, Inc., No. 4:24-cv-837 (S.D. Tex.), where other sponsoring brokerages—NextGen and Keller Williams—were found not liable after a jury trial. The court dismissed the argument, emphasizing that the prior judgment turned on jury findings after evidence was presented. Because the present motion was at the pleading stage, the earlier case offered no basis for dismissal.

Conclusion. Thus, the court found that AIS's complaint contained sufficient factual matter to proceed on claims of vicarious infringement against Spirit and Bjerke. The court ruled that both defendants plausibly benefited financially from the sale of allegedly infringing houses and had the authority to prevent the infringement, but failed to act.

The Case is No. 4:25-cv-02631.

Judge: Lake, S.

Attorneys: Patrick Andrew Zummo (Law Offices of Patrick Zummo) for AIS Designs Co. Brittainie Jonette Zinsmeyer (Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing PLLC) for Top Tier Custom Homes, LLC and JJS Custom Built Homes LLC.

Companies: AIS Designs Co.; Top Tier Custom Homes, LLC; JJS Custom Built Homes LLC; J.J.S. Custom Built Homes, Inc.; Calyx Design Studio, LLC; Calyx Design-Build, LLC; Spirit Real Estate Group, LLC

Cases: Copyright TechnologyInternet TexasNews