Law360 Canada ( July 27, 2017, 8:27 AM EDT) -- Appeal by MacNutt and her business Pier 101 Home Designs Inc. (PIER 101) from the dismissal of their claim for damages for copyright infringement. The appellants were retained by Acadia University (Acadia) in 2013 to prepare concept drawings for a new building, and were paid in full upon submitting the drawings. In 2014, Scott, the architect who proceeded with the project, was featured in a local newspaper article showing the appellants’ design. The appellants were not credited with the designs used in the feature. The appellants commenced an application for copyright infringement, claiming that their copyright in the original drawings had been infringed, the respondents were unjustly enriched, and the appellants suffered significant losses. At trial, the respondents provided expert evidence that the concept designs were not original, as they were based on "mimic architecture" of the original building, according to the requirements of Acadia and the Town of Wolfville, and that the design included many additional, distinct features. The judge dismissed the application. He held that the Copyright Act did not protect the ideas behind an original work, but the expression of those ideas. He found that the appellants’ drawings were based on mimic architecture, and were therefore not distinct and original and subject to copyright infringement. The judge further found that even if the drawings were "original" and capable of copyright, the respondents had established, and the appellants conceded, that the respondents had not been responsible for submitting the drawings to the newspaper, or in not crediting them. The judge awarded the respondent university and the respondent Scott costs of $16,250 plus disbursements, each. The appellants appealed, arguing that the judge made errors of law and fact, that they were denied procedural fairness, and that the judge erred in awarding costs against McNutt personally. They also sought leave to adduce fresh evidence....