George Hatch
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2002
- Professional Status
- Certified General Appraiser
- State
- California
I might be wrong on this one, but as I understand it:
If someone knows differently then that would be a good topic of discussion.
I suppose the argument could be made that if the intellectual property in an appraisal consists of the appraiser's analyses, opinions and conclusions in a specific assignment then the appraiser doesn't control them anyway - their client does. Which if their client has the right of distribution that the appraiser acknowledged in the GSE cert that would mean the client is the party with the control. Not the appraiser.
---------------
Public records doesn't show the building area or they get the lot area incorrect. Appraiser comes along and measures. Does the appraiser own the numerical expression of that building or lot area, or does that fact simply exist on its own regardless of who sees it? If the County Assessor gets the number correct does the county own that number in the form of intellectual property of does the truth of that number exist on its own regardless of who sees it?
My opinion is $500,000
The building area is 1,200sf
One can be considered an opinion and not a fact; the other can be considered a (possible) fact and not an opinion.
Who is doing what?
The idea that subject property attributes are not part of the confidential information stems from the issue of appraisers becoming aware of the subject's attributes in one assignment and having use for that information in another assignment either on their own or in exchanging that info with their peers. The facts about a property's attributes don't become a secret just because an appraiser became informed of them.
If someone knows differently then that would be a good topic of discussion.
I suppose the argument could be made that if the intellectual property in an appraisal consists of the appraiser's analyses, opinions and conclusions in a specific assignment then the appraiser doesn't control them anyway - their client does. Which if their client has the right of distribution that the appraiser acknowledged in the GSE cert that would mean the client is the party with the control. Not the appraiser.
---------------
Public records doesn't show the building area or they get the lot area incorrect. Appraiser comes along and measures. Does the appraiser own the numerical expression of that building or lot area, or does that fact simply exist on its own regardless of who sees it? If the County Assessor gets the number correct does the county own that number in the form of intellectual property of does the truth of that number exist on its own regardless of who sees it?
My opinion is $500,000
The building area is 1,200sf
One can be considered an opinion and not a fact; the other can be considered a (possible) fact and not an opinion.
Who is doing what?
Last edited:
