The architects turned to the court due to the alleged plagiarism of the building

Prague - A preliminary court order has temporarily ended the dispute among architects over the authorship of the building. The Czech studio SAD built a gas station in Slovakia a few years ago, and recently, a gas station was completed in Prague Libeň, which, according to the studio and independent assessments, is a plagiarism of their design. Because the authors of the original consider it a misappropriation of the author's work, they turned to the court. Based on the preliminary measure, the owner of the Prague gas station had to cover the distinctive features that make the building similar to the original and hang an explanatory text on it.

The gas station in the village of Matúškovo was created by the studio SAD eight years ago for the company GAS. The roof is shaped like three interconnected circles supported by slender columns. Some find the building reminiscent of mushrooms, others of supported flying saucers, yet it has received recognition both at home and abroad. The authors of the Slovak gas station learned about the Prague one by chance. "Acquaintances were asking us when our Prague gas station would open," said architect Jaroslav Koza to ČTK about the building he was unaware of during its creation.

The studio, through its legal representative, requested the court to issue a preliminary order. After it was delivered to the owner of the gas station, the company Tived, both parties met. "Today, based on the preliminary measure, the characteristic elements are temporarily covered. They reacted quickly, and we will try to reach an agreement," said Koza. ČTK is seeking a statement from the owner of the gas station.

"By law, once a preliminary measure is issued, we have 30 days to file a lawsuit. Right now, we are trying to negotiate with the other party about how the case will proceed; it is difficult to estimate at this moment," stated Kamila Vodrážková from the studio SAD.

According to the architects, the optimal solution would be to modify the building based on a brief defined by them so that it is not entirely interchangeable with the original GAS gas stations. Demolition of the building is a radical and extreme solution that, according to the architects, seems unlikely.

"There are opinions emerging about why we cannot finish this and bring it to a conclusion so that it looks like in Matúškovo. This is not possible; the project has not been ours from the beginning, and there are also technical issues," said Vodrážková. "Nevertheless, we believe that there are solutions that are not purely destructive in nature. We are trying to negotiate them," she added.

According to her, it is essential that the gas station in Matúškovo was conceived as part of a whole network of gas stations; it was meant to be something like the company's logo, a basic visual. "It damages not only our studio but also the company GAS, which has a broad network of gas stations in Slovakia, and it is not ruled out that they may want to expand into the Czech Republic as well. At that point, it would not only be confusing but also a significant element in competitive struggles," she added.