A Long Island couple is suing neighboring homeowners for building a knockoff version of their copyrighted mansion. 
 
 Seth and Rivka Fortgang thought they were living in a unique dream house in the village of Lawrence that was the creation of Rivka, an exterior and interior designer who copyrighted the architectural plans, according to the lawsuit filed in Long Island Federal Court. 
 
 Although imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Fortgangs contacted their lawyers when they learned of plans for a home being constructed on Villa Place in nearby Cedarhurst, which looked remarkably similar. 
 
 The suit alleges there is smoking gun evidence that the copycats went to the Village of Lawrence Building Department and requested the Fortgangs' architectural plans. 
 
 Daniel Schloss, the lawyer for Daniella and Ari Schwartz who are building the Cedarhurst mansion, argues in court papers that the Fortgangs' design features are not so special that they are covered under the Copyright Act. 
 
 "We note that the exterior façade of the Fortgang residence consists of several windows, rather generic gables, and entry way doors," Schloss sniffed. 
 
 "However in the interests of professional courtesy, our clients have agreed to temporarily postpone construction of the present design … pending certain changes and amendments to its exterior façade elements," he wrote. 
 
 But the suit contends that Rivka Fortgang has suffered substantial damage to her reputation and her business in the upscale Five Towns community as a result of the copying. 
 
 The Fortgangs' lawyers did not respond to a request for comment. 
 
 According to the real estate website Zillow, the Fortgangs' mansion is valued at $1.48 million. ||||| There’s no place like home, there’s no place like … wait, that one’s pretty close. 
 
 A Long Island couple says an architect ripped off the blueprint to their one-of-a-kind dream house — to build a carbon copy in the town next door. 
 
 Rivka Fortgang, an interior and exterior home designer from Five Towns, and her husband, Seth are now suing to block the mansion on Villa Place in Cedarhurst from being built because it will look nearly identical to their own home on Auerbach Lane in Lawrence, just a mile away. 
 
 The Fortgangs “constructed their unique home from the ground up, creating a visually distinctive and unique exterior stucco façade” in 2005 and copyrighted the original architectural drawings under the name “Fortgang Residence I,” according to the suit, filed Thursday in Long Island federal court. 
 
 The couple claims the firm Pereiras Architects Ubiquitous and property owners Daniella and Ari Schwartz accessed their exclusive plans in property records last August through the Lawrence buildings department — without their permission. 
 
 “There is no doubt that you have accessed and intentionally copied the plans of the Fortgang residence intending to create a replica of our clients’ home and distinctive exterior,” the Fortgang’s lawyer Steven Stern wrote in a cease-and-desist letter dated June 7. 
 
 The Villa home is in the early stages of construction but renderings show that it will be “substantially similar” to the Fortgang’s McMansion, the complaint says. 
 
 Their home features several giant, black-rimmed windows on the front and peaked windows on the roof. 
 
 The Villa residence design also has similarly styled-windows. 
 
 A lawyer for Daniella Schwartz argued that the two designs are, in fact, different. 
 
 “We note that the exterior façade of the Fortgang resident consists of several windows, rather generic gables, and entry way doors,” attorney Daniel Schloss wrote in a court filing. 
 
 Schloss also noted that the Villa property is “literally in another town and separated from the Fortgang residence by several major thoroughfares and commercial districts.” 
 
 The accused copycats agreed to temporarily halt construction “pending certain changes and amendments to its exterior façade elements,” court papers show. 
 
 But new color renderings of the Villa home were hardly changed, spurring the copyright infringement lawsuit. 
 
 The Fortgangs are suing for unspecified damages. 
 
 Rivka also claims her business and reputation as a designer in the Five Towns community has suffered due to the housing hoopla. 
 
 The Fortgang’s fortress boasts more than 4,400 square feet of space and 5 ¹/₂ bathrooms, according to Zillow.com, which estimates it’s worth $1.4 million. 
 
 A representative from Pereiras Architects Ubiquitous declined to comment. 
 
 Schwartz’s lawyer did calls for comment. ||||| BUILD YOUR OWN: Long Island couple sues neighbors for copying their mansion https://t.co/KW59ZTXO5G pic.twitter.com/pevWEYnfnJ — New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) July 7, 2016 
 
 In what might be the snootiest case of copyright infringement ever recorded, a Long Island couple is suing another wealthy Long Island couple for allegedly copying the design of their custom mansion, according to the New York Daily News. 
 
 The original mansion, located in the village of Lawrence, was designed and built by home designer Rivka Fortgang, according to plans she herself created, and copyrighted. The facade of the home consists of a pair of outset banks of windows that straddle the front door and another set of windows above it, beneath a gabled roof that has a trio of peaked attic windows. There are some Art Deco flourishes as well, giving the building a modern look and feel, while invoking more traditional home design. It’s a good looking home, which is why the Schwartzes of nearby village Cedarhurst may have copied it. 
 
 According to the lawsuit filed by the Fortgangs, the Schwartz couple accessed the architectural plans for the Fortgang house from the Lawrence Building Department to help design their new home. The Schwartzes’ prospective mansion does seem to share a number of features with the Fortgang home including the window and gable placement. A lawyer defending the Schwartz couple argued that those design aspects just aren’t that special, according to the Daily News. Quite the burn. 
 
 But Rivka Fortgang claims that the copied building is hurting her reputation, and the Schwartz family has agreed to postpone construction on the home until the matter can be settled.
– In 2005, Long Island couple Seth and Rivka Fortgang built their dream home in the village of Lawrence and copyrighted the architectural plans to ensure that it remained truly one-of-a-kind. Now Rivka, an interior and exterior designer who envisioned the whole project, says her business and reputation are suffering because a nearly identical house is being built in Cedarhurst just a mile away, reports the New York Post. Among the Fortgangs' accusations, per their copyright infringement lawsuit: "There is no doubt that [Daniella and Ari Schwartz] have accessed and intentionally copied the plans of the Fortgang residence" by way of the Lawrence Buildings Department with the intention of aping the design. Atlas Obscura observes that the locations of the window and gables do seem similar. The Schwartzes have thus far responded through their attorney, Daniel Schloss, and contend that while the design features being shared are too "generic" to be covered under the Copyright Act, they are temporarily postponing construction "in the interests of professional courtesy," reports the New York Daily News. The Fortgangs' attorney hasn't commented beyond the lawsuit. Real estate website Zillow puts the Fortgang house, which is 4,400 square feet and features 5.5 bathrooms, at $1.48 million. (Check out where this reclusive heiress hid the architectural plans of a mansion she never spent a night in.)