REALTORS USING CERTAIN URL’s MAY VIOLATE CODE OF ETHICS
INDUSTRY NEWS, REAL ESTATE PRACTICE, SHASTA COUNTY
October 23rd, 2008
An ongoing dispute involving a Realtor in Sarasota Florida and the Sarasota MLS involves alleged reverse 
domain name hijacking, cyber-squatting, trademark dilution and infringement of the Sarasota Association of Realtors trademark name of more than 50 years. Marc Rasmussen registered TheSarasotaMLS.com in 2003 and claims 90% of his new business came from the website that received 800 to 900 visits per day. The website has been redirected pending resolution of his lawsuit.
Here’s the problem: Marc is not the Sarasota MLS. The Sarasota MLS actually feeds their data to the Mid-Florida MLS. An arbitration panel concluded, according to Inman News, his website “misleads consumers to foster his own commercial advantage.” Basically, they assert he was taking advantage of the confusion.
MLS is not trademarked and can be used without fear of copyright infringement unlike the term “Realtor.” Attaching MLS to a city or county name to create a URL may put you in conflict with existing MLS’s if it is similar to an existing entity that provides data to real estate licensees. The Code of Ethics was revised this year to update Article 12, first written in 1913, that states in part “Realtors shall be careful at all times to present a true picture in their advertising and representations to the public.”
One defense Mr Rasmussen cited is the fact non-Realtors could play this game without fear of being accused of an ethics violation. True. However, non-Realtors might still be pursued under copyright and trademark laws. The majority of active, productive agents in this country are Realtors.
530-224-6767 or 530-941-7492
BRAD GARBUTT
REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS GMAC
QUARTER CENTURY LOCAL REAL ESTATE EXPERIENCE
