Real Estate Agents Can Pay Dearly For Copyright Violations

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 Under U.S. copyright law, someone owns almost all the photos, writings, drawings, music, printed material, and videos on the internet – and people who don’t hold the copyright to those things cannot use them without permission.
Every real estate agent needs to read the above article. So many agents tell their marketing people to take photos from the IDX on their site or the MLS. This is a big NO!
This is why our company does NOT use photos on MLS or on an agent’s website that are integrated from the IDX.
Our company won’t use photos unless the agent or broker owns the copyright.
That happened last week. Fla. agents continue to receive demand letters over photo copyright issues. SAFE HARBOR provision does NOT provide immunity for all IDX claims. Some, but not all!
Copyright violations are costly and can ruin or take out an entire business with one claim.
Here is another article from the Florida Realtors. For more information you may want to read this article below:

Photo Copyright Lawsuits: Agents Keep Getting Sued

You need a photo of a Gulf sunset to sell a beachfront condo. A title company you often use has a perfect photo on its website and surely wouldn’t mind if you use it – so you do. It seems innocent, but the actual photo owners are going after agents claiming copyright infringement.  

We pay for all legally licensed stock photos for all our social media clients. I have a blog post with nearly 90 websites that offer free stock photos and videos.

Many of these photographs are free from copyright restrictions or licensed under creative commons public domain dedication. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Click here to learn more about Creative Commons Public Domain

 Some photos may require attribution or credit to the photographer. Do your own research and determine how the images can be used. Feel free to use them.

My favorite tip for real estate agents is to use your phone. When you are out about in your community, snap photos. You have no idea how valuable your own photos are to your marketing.
Enjoy these tips and don’t violate copyright laws.

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