Copyright Infringement Warning Received!

[Canadian Realtor]

I received a copyright infringement warning today for using the term realtor in my domain name. I used cityrealtor and was told that I was infringing. I was told that I can use mynamerealtor and that is fine... so, the word realtor, attached with other words is fine, but not with a city.

[HHI Golf Guy]

The NAR is very aggressive in protecting the word Realtor.

[Las Vegas Homes]

Yes NAR will take this to the kilt. You are allow to use yourname plus realtor but not city plus realtor. Also you are not allowed to do a redirect of that violating domain name, they will also nail you for that. Dont feel bad though a lot of people have made this same mistake. Its quite common. If they sent you a notice I would take it seriously, it most likely came from Mary and I cant remember her last name.

[Canadian Realtor]

I woud assume then the word realtors is fine?

[Las Vegas Homes]

No it isnt, they will give you a hard time and take you to court about that as well. If you want to spend the money to fight it then you might win that case but I would suggest to not use any type of prefix of the word Realtor...Just a suggestion :D

[judyo]

I was told that I can use mynamerealtor and that is fine... so, the word realtor, attached with other words is fine, but not with a city.

You can only use your name or your company's registered name preceding the word REALTOR. In your url you don't have to use capitals. You cannot use it with any other descriptive words.

[Phoenix Realtor]

It's a big mess. NAR will lose their trademark if they don't go after everyone, so... Realtor, or Realtors, you'll never win in court. Never. If you feel frisky, do some research and see just how many have lost in court already, and some with some very deep pockets that I doubt you could even dream of having yourself.

Drop it, move on and live your life.

[sarahk]

I wonder if they'd go after me? kiwirealtor.com? makes me want to buy it just to p them off. but then I'm not a realtor so what do I care? but surely I wouldn't come under their jurisdiction?

Sarah

[Canadian Realtor]

the term realtor is copyright... if you registered something with Microsoft, you could be sued by them. I would think it is the same... I learned and have now adapted...

[sarahk]

Yes, but microsoft have applied for copyrights around the world. Has the NAR?

Copyrights aren't international law, just national law. So, register your url in the Caymans....

Sarah

[Canadian Realtor]

haha, they would boot me out of membership...

[Phoenix Realtor]

He's right. While they would still come after you Sarah, you are ricking losing your membership which is where they have us by the BA[[S.

[Canadian Realtor]

Phoenix,

Doesn't it piss you off sometimes to think these clowns are calling all the shots on how we can run our business... Here is Canada, our board follows everything NAR does... to a tee!

[Las Vegas Homes]

The term Realtor is copyright in almost every country in the World and what countries it doesnt hold the copyright in they have been applied for from my understanding. It s no win with NAR, their pockets are to deep and it would cause nothing but headaches for anyone who tried to fight them not to mention A LOT of money.

[Phoenix Realtor]

I've read every post in this thread more than once, I've posted twice myself... and I jsut caught on to a mistake. Albeit a minor one, it's Trademark Infringment, not copyright. LOL

[sarahk]

The term Realtor is copyright in almost every country in the World and what countries it doesnt hold the copyright in they have been applied for from my understanding. Although you'd have to wonder what right the NAR has to trademark etc in countries where it doesn't operate... :cool:

[Canadian Realtor]

I think if you were licensed in another country, you would fall under that countries jurisdiction. Like here in Canada, if CREA said I could use the word realtor, then I could here in Canada and NAR would have no say in the matter. I think, however, like Canada and the US, there is an agreement.

[sarahk]

I don't know if this link is session dependant or not but according New Zealand law

http://www.iponz.govt.nz/pls/web/DBSIPEXT.IP_Extract_Validation?p_access_no=640DB3C 1A6028071A0C805D1AC9C2C0D&p_button_pressed=&p_payup=Y

it was trademarked from 1960 to 1996 when the NAR let it drop. I guess that explains why we don't use the term realtor but have "real estate agents"

Trade Mark Details
Trade Mark Number (210) 65751 Current Status Expired
TM Search Text REALTOR NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REAL ESTATE BOARDS
Trade Mark Type Trade Mark Non-Convention, DEVICE
Trade Mark Nature
Use Statement (i) being used by the proprietor(s), (being the applicant)
Filed (220) 11-MAR-1960
Marks , Device and Device Descriptors (532)
6.7.11
Classification System | Class (511) Specification of Goods and Services
4|16 printed publications and stationery
Documents
Explanations The applicants agree that it shall be a condition of registration that the mark will only be used on goods which are for sale exclusively to members of the Real Estate Board
Proprietor: (730) NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS . 430 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
Registered User: REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF NEW ZEALAND . 74-76 Wakefield Street, Auckland, New Zealand
Contact : (740) A J PARK . 6th Floor, Huddart Parker Building, 1 Post Office Square, Wellington, New Zealand
Service Address: As above
Action Completed Due Journal Published
Lapse 21-AUG-1996 21-AUG-1996
Filed 11-MAR-1960 11-MAR-1960
Related Trade Marks
No Related Trade Marks found
Objections / Hearings
There are no current objections or hearings present
Renewal Interest
No renewal interest on record or public access is restricted
Proprietor & Licensee History
No proprietors nor licensees on record or public access is restricted

[sarahk]

So, that's still an American operator trying to trademark outside their own geography. Proves how aggressive they can be, I guess

[Phoenix Realtor]

Although you'd have to wonder what right the NAR has to trademark etc in countries where it doesn't operate... :cool:

I think like any big organization, NAR has it's eyes on the world.

Pinky and the brain kind of thing...

Isn't it funny how that little noise in your email box can bring you to a forum? I posted in this thread 'cause I felt like it, and then saw that no one else was online so I logged off and went surfing around... then "ding" new email and it was you two. So, here I am again. :eek:

[HomeSurfer]

The term Realtor is an internationally registered Trademark. It is like a brand, like Coca Cola, Jello, Kleenex, and so on. If you're not a member of the NAR, you're not supposed to use the term.

In New Zealand, you might have to check with the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, which is mentioned by the Realtor.org web site as a cooperating association.

As far as the use of the term, it isn't mandatory to capitalze all the letters and put the trademark symbol after it, that is simply the recommended method for NAR members. Members of the press need to use the term Realtor and they aren't going to do all the foolishness of ALL CAPS and looking up a trademark symbol on their keyboard just because someone says so. This is accepted by the NAR and part of the official policy. The requirement is only that the term must be capitalized.

MLS Associations are not subject to the same rules as members. A local Association of Realtors in Metropolis could actually put "MetropolisRealtors.com" as their URL, while agents, brokers, and companies in the fictional city of Metropolis may not.

At the same time, I always wondered what the NAR could do if someone used the term correctly, as in OnlyRealtors.com, only allowing NAR members on the site -- and the site owner not a member of the NAR (so not entirely subject to the NAR's internal rules). I'm thinking that is a lawsuit someone could win, because they are correctly identifying Realtors, but I'm not going to test it out.

[Las Vegas Homes]

I've read every post in this thread more than once, I've posted twice myself... and I jsut caught on to a mistake. Albeit a minor one, it's Trademark Infringment, not copyright. LOL


LOL you are so very right and none of us caught on to it lol. Great Catch.

[Real Estate Forum]

I have seen a lot of realtors get a site built around their realtor name and they had to take it down and change everything with a new domain/company identity.
I am surprised that this is not better known within the real estate community.
Mike

[Phoenix Realtor]

With the age of the internet upon us, it should be taught in real estate school. But then, not all real estate agents are realtors.

[Real Estate Forum]

So let's say I am a real estate agent using the term realtor in violation. How would I go about being allowed to use the name?

Become a member of the NAR, pay a fee and then get the authorization?

Sorry, but I really don't know.

Mike

[Canadian Realtor]

My understanding is you can use it with your name or other terms but nothing geographic. Remember though, this is my first (negative) experience with this... :)

[Real Estate Forum]

Yeh, but there are people who are allowed to use

AtlantaRealtor. And so on. Why can they? Does the NAR have 1 realtor per area that is authorized to use that title?

[Canadian Realtor]

My understanding is that NO realtors can use the city + realtor as those are designated for board associations...

[Real Estate Forum]

oic. Thank you, I guess I've always wondered about this, but didn't want to seem ignorant for asking :)

[Phoenix Realtor]

So let's say I am a real estate agent using the term realtor in violation. How would I go about being allowed to use the name?

Become a member of the NAR, pay a fee and then get the authorization?

Sorry, but I really don't know.

Mike

You could use SiteTutorRealtor.com or SiteTutorRealtors.com since your real estate company would be named Site Tutor. Or you could use MikeRealtor.com, MikeLastnameRealtor.com, just no descriptive words in front or behind the trademarked word.

So, there is an AlantaRealtor.com? I'll look...

[Phoenix Realtor]

Spelled it wrong above, but I found nothing.

Sorry, we could not find www AtlantaRealtor com
You can try again by typing the URL in the address bar above.
Or, search the Web:

[Real Estate Forum]

Actually, I'm not sure, just a member here has used that name on a forum before. But not as a company name I believe.

[Canadian Realtor]

Maybe they got to him....

[Las Vegas Homes]

No Atlanta Realtor use to be my user name on another forum, but it was never used as a domain name. To answer your question sitetutor..in order to use the term Realtor you must be a Realtor and that involves taking a class and paying a fee to your local,state and national boards..ie NAR.

Only the local and state boards are allowed to use city plus Realtor in a domain name. They have a license agreement with NAR to use the name this way.

[HomeSurfer]

How can you use the term Realtor? It depends.

You are not supposed to use it in any way that might cause it to be taken as a synonym for "real estate agent." Realtors can be agents, brokers, or appraisers.

The term means that they are a member of the trade organization, the National Association of Realtors (and the appropriate local associations).

An individual member or a company that is a member may basically only use the term in association with their individual name or company name, denoting that they are members of the trade organization. The term must immediately precede or follow the name. It cannot be on a separate line.

Guidelines are very detailed and are located here:
http://www.realtor.org/letterlw.nsf/pages/mmmPartOne
http://www.realtor.org/letterlw.nsf/pages/mmmPartTwo

In URLs, no Realtor may use the term in association with any geographical representation, although local Associations may do so. Adjectives are also not allowed.

This carries over to practically all advertising and marketing, or mention of the term by members. Someone calling themselves an "Alabama Realtor" (or something similar) would be an inappropriate use of the term, as it can seem that they are using the term as a synonym for "agent." Neither can someone refer to themself as "The Happy Realtor" or other types of adjectives.

The media and web sites who talk about Realtors are NOT required to capitalize the term (like REALTOR®) or include the registered mark, mostly because it doesn't make sense for us to do so. However, if you appear to use the term as a synonym for "real estate agent" (etc.), you could be contacted by the NAR legal department who will point out your error.

I've always been very careful on my websites to follow the proper terms of use (which is why I know them in such detail), so I've never had a problem. There are some major sites which appear to misuse the term, but evidently have not been corrected. Kind of makes you wonder, sometimes.

[schockergd]

This massively sucks.


Before becomming a real estate agent , i went around asking people if i could have the domain name myhicktowncityrealtor.com , EVERY SINGLE PERSON said that it was fine. I've spent quite a bit of time developing it , and now i'm listed as #1 on msn.com for search results. Now i have to change it.........

Will it be possible to just forward the domain offsite till it expires? I'm a new agent , so not every mom and dad knows my website address , but it is on my business cards (along with domain email)

what do i do?

[HomeSurfer]

You were evidently asking some uninformed individuals because this policy has never changed or wavered and has always been quite public and easily available from the National Association of Realtors.

If you have an improper URL, according to NAR standards, you may not use the improper URL as a forwarding web site. You don't have any options other than to change your URL.

[ResaleBroker]

If you have an improper URL, according to NAR standards, you may not use the improper URL as a forwarding web site. You don't have any options other than to change your URL.That is my understanding too... no forwarding.

[judyo]

I'm a new agent , so not every mom and dad knows my website address , but it is on my business cards (along with domain email)

what do i do?

As others have said, you have been completely misinformed from everyone you asked about that domain name. You've also been given an answer about forwarding.

You will need to start over and get new business cards. It's a learning experience and you are not the only agent that this has happened to. I've also read that in at least one area they are stopping the use of "MLS" in domain names.

MSN is easy to get listed in and if you got to #1 in it you can do it again. However, what I'm still not 100% sure about is the fact that if you simply change your domain name you might now have a duplicate content issue. Normally, I think a permanent 301 redirect would be the way to combat this, but if you can't redirect the bad url I'm not sure what will happen.

You might need to start a new question about this.

[schockergd]

My question i guess is this ............

On my main page (mycityrealtor.com) Can i have a Start screen that says "we've moved to....." then hyperlink to new website , which would have identical content , outside of the domain name would no longer have the city in it. Is it possible to do realtormyfirstname.com as the domain name , or do i HAVE to have my full name? I have a fairly complicated last name ,and that was the origional reason i didn't want my last name involved with the domain.

Otherwise i'll have to re-issue business cards , letterhead ,ect.

I've already emailed the local board and asked them about the issue , my hope is that if i go to them , instead of someone reporting me , that they'll be a bit easier and give me a little bit of lieniency.

[judyo]

That's worse than doing a redirect as your domain (with the incorrect yourcityrealtor) would still be associated with a live page. They want any kind of live site associated with that domain gone.

As has been mentioned, they don't even want that domain to be redirected to a new domain. That is what is so difficult as it could mean having 2 different domains indexed by the search engines with the exact same content.

I'm still confused about this. Some say the old domain's pages will drop off at some point, but I still have cached/indexed pages on sites where those pages have been gone for a very long time. They have yet to "drop off."

So if your site is currently indexed in MSN & you just start using a brand new domain name, you're now going to have 2 domains indexed/cached with the exact same content. I don't know how people get around this if they can't use a permanent 301 redirect from the old domain to the new one.

[jay19n64]

I know a few local realtors that have city-realtor.com, wonder if they will get shutdown?

[schockergd]

I've been spending alot of time on this thing ,and i've noticed alot of large real estate companies using 'thierrealestatecompanyrealtors.com' , and i'm talking LARGE companies. Having thier agents@bigcityrealtors.com seems like the NAR wouldn't like it too much. I guess i'm less worried now than i was , but still not a mistake i want to make again.