> That is, say there is a plan on their site for a 2BD/2BA house, the floor plan is very simple and a builder that is unaware of this company ends up copying th

> That is, say there is a plan on their site for a 2BD/2BA house, the floor plan is very simple and a builder that is unaware of this company ends up copying the floor plan for no other reason that it happens to be a very common floorplan. Could this company still pursue damages? No. The ruling in this case actually covers this in detail: Proving copyright infringement is a two-step process, first you must prove that something was actually copied and then that the copied portion was substantial enough to constitute infringement. But the first part is a necessary precondition, without copying there's no infringement. They give the example of two comic book authors inventing a character called "Dennis the Menace" independently on the same day.