nwmls threatening fines on directory listing

webmaster · 08-28-2006, 11:23 AM

Ok I am a little bothered by this. We have a member (Who will remain nameless) that submitted to our directory. Of course with his great site and proper adherance to our terms of submission we listed him.

Now, he is in the Sea / Tac area of Washington, and his board is the North West MLS (or NWMLS) and it turns out the board found his listing on our directory and decided they did not like that in his description he had "Search the Seattle MLS" and demanded that he remove it.

This really pisses me off. This poor guy is totally being bullied by his board, and doesn't have the $ to fight them or pay fines or have his license suspended so he just has to eat this? That is total BS!

#1 - This person does not own or control realestatewebmasters.com - so how the hell can they threaten to fine him for content that is not even located on his website? I mean yes the content links to his site, but what if it were scraped, or he didn't put it there? What If I wrote a review of his site and said "I like this site because you can "Search the Seattle MLS" and all sorts of other cool features. Who the hell do they think they are?

#2 - The NWMLS does not own the copyright to the phrase "Search Seattle MLS" or "Search the Seattle MLS" or "Search the Seattle Multiple Listings Service" so how can they get away with bullying this poor guy like this? The fines threatened were $5000-$10,000 WTF!

I have a whole bunch more reasons why I am upset with this whole thing and could rant for hours, but I want to open it up to the floor - what do other realtors think of this sort of action (This is not the first time we have seen it) with regards to MLS boards bullying their own members.

AaronSOLD · 08-28-2006, 11:43 AM

This is happening in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region right now. As of September 3, 2006 no agent can refer to the MLS like: "search the MLS" and if they do they could receive stiff fines or lose the broker reciprocity data feed. There are agents in MN that are preparing a suit regarding this issue.

As for the linking, that agent requested that link text and that's why it was listed as such. If it could be shown he had no involvement in the placing of the link, I would agree to your position. As it sits right now it would be like him placing an ad in the local paper.

I agree completely with your #2. However, we have one company in Minneapolis that uses MLS in its name and advertising such that it sounds like they ARE the MLS, not a broker who participates in it. If you have no restrictions or disclaimers to its use, you could have agents/brokers that use it in such a way that it deceives the consumer and dilutes the rest of the Realtor community.

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REMINDER: Broker/Agent Web sites with “MLS” in the URL must be redirected by September 3, discontinued by December 31
Posted by
Monday, August 28, 2006

If you have "MLS" or "multiple listing service" in your Web site URL, don't forget you must have it redirected to a compliant URL by September 3rd. Please see below for redirect requirements. If you have a URL in violation of the rule that is not redirected by September 3rd, you will receive a seven-day notice to get the redirect in place. If the redirect is still not in place after seven days, your MLS access will be shut off until the redirect is put in place. Repeat violations will result in termination of MLS membership. This also applies to the disclaimer requirement for companies with "MLS" in their company name (established before March 3, 2006).

As announced in March, the RMLS rule was created to prohibit inappropriate use of the terms “MLS” and “Multiple Listing Service” by its Participants and their agents, particularly in terms of firm name and Web sites. The rule was established to protect the interests of the local real estate industry at large. Using “MLS” in member firm names and Web site URLs is inappropriate, potentially misleading to consumers and damaging to the MLS brand.

If you have a Web site with “MLS” or “Multiple Listing Service” in the URL, you have until September 3rd to redirect it to a different URL that is compliant. By December 31st, the redirect must also be discontinued. The following are the requirements of the redirect:

The redirect must be visible to the Web site visitor. They must be informed that the old URL has been discontinued, and they must click on a link on the redirect page to get to the compliant URL. An automatic/transparent redirect is not permitted.
Only text (no logos or other images) is permitted on the redirect page.
The redirect page must include one of the following disclaimers:
Broker Site: (Company name and/or website address) is not a Multiple Listing Service (MLS), nor does it offer MLS access, but is a service of (Company name), a broker Participant of the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc.
Agent Site: (Website address) is not a Multiple Listing Service (MLS), nor does it offer MLS access, but is a service of (Agent’s name), a real estate agent associated with (Company name), a broker Participant of the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc.
The font size for the Disclaimer must be no less than 75% of the largest font size appearing on the re-direct page.
In addition, Participants’ (and their agents’) Web sites and advertisements may not make any claims or statements that could lead visitors to believe they are accessing the MLS, (such as “Search the MLS”).

Brokers with “MLS” already in their firm name before March 3, 2006 are not required to change their firm name. However, they are required to include the above disclaimers on their Web site home page, any page of the Web site which searches or displays MLS data, and all advertisements.

If you have any questions about this rule or how to comply, contact the NorthstarMLS Rules & Regulations department at 651-251-3200.

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webmaster · 08-28-2006, 11:44 AM

Ok so I'm deciding to look into this further, I would imagine the first place to start is finding out whether or not NWMLS owns the copyright or trademark to "Seattle MLS" - does anyone know where to look up trademarks in the US or have any documentation on this?

AaronSOLD · 08-28-2006, 11:47 AM

I can almost guarantee that they don't have a trademark on it. They don't in Minneapolis and they are still pushing it.

webmaster · 08-28-2006, 11:49 AM

Your example is quite different however Aaron (Although I don't agree with that either) - in their sample, the term "MLS" or "multiple listing service" is being used in a domain or otherwise to trick people into thinking they "ARE" the mls - this is much different than if you are an agent who has authorized use of the MLS on your website and you tell potential visitors that they can "access that mls" via your website. Here you are being descriptive and this should not be an issue.

webmaster · 08-28-2006, 11:55 AM

Ok just found this on the web, thought it was pretty funny.

Quote:

infringes any intellectual property or other right of any entity or person, including (but not limited to) violating anyone's copyrights or trademarks (by way of example, you shall not use the term "MLS" and understand and agree that "Major League Soccer" is a trademark of Major League Soccer, Inc.

AaronSOLD · 08-28-2006, 11:58 AM

But the public does not search the MLS, they search the broker reciprocity data feed for the MLS, which is not the entire MLS because many fields are not replicated & at least in my region you can choose not to have a listing show up in the broker data feed. I know it is a subtle difference, but that's what they are arguing.

There's also a problem with allowing it to seem like a public utility, which may cause it to lose its protection as a Realtor-only database.

These are the reasons they give....

webmaster · 08-28-2006, 12:10 PM

Ok - but you can't have your cake and eat it to. Realtors and members have an internal definition of the MLS which you stated above, however even the MLS boards themselves publish the "MLS" to the public in the form of catalogues, etc with no explanation that the MLS is actually something different from what they are seeing in the catalogue. For instance I get a magazine here each month here that is a huge book of properties can the title of this book, yes folks "Nanaimo MLS" - I am the consumer, if you are going to label something like this, I am going to assume that is it's name and that is what it is. Basically, if this catalogue is NOT the nanaimo MLS, then don't call it that - this way the public wont become confused.

And I mean seriously, think about it, how did we get in this situation? If the MLS was an acronym that should only mean something to realtors and those with access, why now has it become such a commonly searched term? You don't see people optimizing for or debating area CRS or area CBR terms. Why? Because noone in the public knows what the heck they are, they are for all intents and purposes internal acronyms so there is no interest, thus no traffic, thus no problem.

I say, that it is the MLS boards themselves that have mis-used the term MLS and now have created a situation where the phrase MLS is becoming public domain. If they did have the trademark for "MLS" (Which they don't) they would likely lose it through dilution. Some interesting reading http://www.google.ca/search?q=lanham...en-US:official

webmaster · 08-28-2006, 12:13 PM

Incidentally mls.com is owned by a homegain affiliate for those intersted

AaronSOLD · 08-28-2006, 12:13 PM

I agree. It is like Kleenex and facial tissue. They let it get too popular and lost it. However, each MLS district is autonomous in regards to their day-to-day activities so what is good for one is not necessarily good for another.

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