Free the MLS! Another Board Forbids the Use of the Term “MLS”
Author: Jay T. - The EditorPosted on January 4, 2008
Filed Under NAR - Legal, NAR - Standards
The Realtors Association of Northwestern Wisconsin has joined some other associations in forbidding its members to use terms related to “MLS”. Paying members can’t use terms like “MLS”, “Search the MLS” etc. in domains names, or on their web sites. (see their rules and regs, Section 16)
Granted, if I have an IDX search on my web site, a visitor is not searching the MLS. But to the average non-Realtor person out there, the term “MLS” means “home search”. Try putting “Search via IDX” on your site and see how many people stop by.
A “disclaimer” that the user isn’t actually searching the MLS I can live with. But where do the NAR and Realtor associations get off telling me what words and terms I can or can’t put on my website? I can’t use “realtor” in a domain name. Fine, your trademark, your rules. But MLS? Give me a break.
There are few areas of interest here to me:
1) The term “MLS” is not trademarked by the NAR or any association. Want to know who owns the trademark on the term “MLS”? Try Major League Soccer, M. Licht & Son, Midcontinent Livestock Supplements and Multi-Lingual Software, Inc.to name a few. But it’s not trademarked by the NAR or any association I could find in a trademark search (go here and click “submit query”. You want to look at registered and “live” marks).
2) If you do NOT belong to the association, you are free to use the MLS related terms all you’d like.
How does restricting the use of “MLS” help the NAR and association members? You know, the ones that pay to belong.
Sigh.
Thanks to Inman Blog, I found this nifty little site — Free The MLS.
Why are they here? To quote them:
Our primary order of business is to provide insight and education on a recent addition to Article 12 of the National Association of REALTORS® code of ethics.
Our goal is to have this addition modified to clarify and strengthen our position as REALTORS® in the rapidly changing world of online real estate.
It is our opinion that this recent change to Article 12 of the REALTOR® code of ethics does a disservice to member brokers, agents and consumers as a whole by denying access to a term that has long been understood as a primary marketing tool for customers to buy and sell properties throughout the United States and Canada.
We seek to protect this most valuable asset by having the new code of ethics revision allow REALTORS® to continue to use the term MLS in all marketing materials. We firmly believe that the use of the term MLS does in fact provide consumers with a “true picture” of the MLS.
The consequences of disallowing the use of the term MLS are such that it permit other non-member entities and businesses to usurp the term thereby diluting the ”true” meaning of the term MLS.
In an effort to help to protect consumers, the NAR has set on a path of unintended consequences which will be more detrimental to the consumer than the intent of the initial change.
I’ve got to agree with these guys. The term MLS is basically in the “public domain”. Taking away the Realtor’s ability to use those terms on a web page is clearly not in the best interest of Realtors, in my opinion.
So stop by FreeTheMLS.com and sign the petition. If you are so inclined.
I’d love to hear an explanation of why it’s good to prevent Realtors from using the terms related to “MLS” on their site. Seriously. Help me understand.
OTHERS OPINE:
Cry-Baby Board of Realtor Associations and MLS’s Continue Desperate Rule-Making
Comments
18 Responses to “Free the MLS! Another Board Forbids the Use of the Term “MLS””
Leave a Reply
[…] members from using the term “search the MLS” on their consumer-facing web site. Jay Thompson asks the right question, “I’d love to hear an explanation of why it’s good to prevent Realtors from using the […]
Jay, I am a realtor (r) but our board does not require you to be a realtor (r) like many others do. I chose to become one but the more stupid stuff like this that nar implements will force me to rethink and just be a real estate agent.
And with some of the dumb ads currently running and “head in the sand” forecasting by Larry (the yuckster) Yun and his predecessor, the Laughable Lereah, the consumer public might prefer to deal with a real estate agent rather than a realtor in the future.
I envy you Howard. If I want MLS access, I have no choice but to pony up to the NAR… so much for “voluntary”.
Well, I guess it technically is voluntary, though doing this job without MLS access would be a somewhat tricky proposition.
Well, if we ban “search the MLS” it helps the people who don’t have searchs on their sits get equal footing.
Its about stopping the innovators, forward thinkers, and can-doers under the guise of “leveling the playing field.”
Jay, actually it’s only a $25 annual difference, not very significant in the bigger scheme of things but what’s unfortunate is the public’s perception of a realtor (r) has been declining.
If everybody would use point2agent.com the “NLS Handshake” which means National Listing Service we would not need the MLS!
[…] Your Problem, TooKris Berg — Alphabet Soup, Alphabet SoupJay Thompson — Free the MLS!, Free the MLS! Another Board Forbids the Use of the Term “MLS”Michael Wurzer — Open Letter, Open Letter To Yahoo!, Google, Trulia, and Zillow, Encouraging […]
We can add Charlotte, NC to the list of boards trying to control the use of “MLS”.
Brad Wallace
Metro MLS Realty LLC
State of Illinois
618-656-8282
www.AltonMLS.com
www.BethaltoMLS.com
www.GraniteCityMLS.com
www;EdwardsvilleMLS.com
www.GlenCarbonMLS.com
www.EdwardsvilleMLS.com
www.HighlandMLS.com
www.TroyMLS.com
www.CollinsvilleMLS.com
www.BellevilleMLS.com
www.FarviewHeightsMLS.com
www.ShilohMLS.com
www.SwanseaMLS.com
www.StauntonMLS.com
www.LitchfieldMLS.com
www.OfallonMLS.net
This is the best thing our SIR/MLS directors could have ever hoped for, they are all agents & their my competition, I feel they are using thing “new rule” just to eliminate my firm. After all, it’s real estate, and we all know real estate agents “always play fair”.
I see anti-trust here, those who gover, can set rule to their own favor…
I’ll turn all my MLS sites into FSBO sites, they have excellent page ranking…
bw
[…] There are associations out there forbidding their members from using terms including “MLS̶…. […]
[…] written about this before. This is an issue that just isn’t going to go away. Like most oppressive rules and laws this bad rule (at least as it is currently interpreted and […]
Приветствую всех!
У меня такой вопрос,кто что интересное подскажет буду признателен.
Мы с друзьями собираемся поехать в круиз по просторам России и ближнего зарубежья месяца на два на своих машинах,но не как не можем согласовать маршрут,если у кого уже был опыт такого путешествия,может,что посоветуете.Девчонок с собой не берем,думаем,что во все городах России с этим не будет проблем,если у кого будут рекомендации и в вопросе отдыха с девушками тоже буду признателен.
С уважением Сеньчик
[…] would have hurt the internet savvy ones more then help just like some recent changes to the REALTOR Code of Ethics that hurts REALTORS that have “MLS” in their domain name. Which ironically, cannot be enforced against non REALTORS and third party sites that just sell […]
Let me get this straight NAR….in the monthly NAR publication “REALTOR” dated March 1, 2002, you suggested using…your city +MLS. Hard to believe? See it below in this artice..chart #1.
http://www.realtor.org/rmomag.nsf/pages/AskMrIn200202221?OpenDocument
So now in 2008, NAR now is threatening the realtor community for using “MLS”? NAR thinks they are GOD…please NAR…do something good for us…get out of our way.
Justin Case
Thank you Justin! I knew that was published somewhere http://www.realtor.org/rmomag.nsf/pages/AskMrIn200202221?OpenDocument
That was a course I received contining education credits!
Would someone please find me a person in the general public that was mislead! This is nothing more than jealousy!
Kevin Duffy
ReMax Unlimited
Cincinnati Ohio
513-602-6000
Where at you it is possible to look Football? The league of champions interests - Spartak - FC Kiev 13.08.
In advance thanks.
In principle I agree, but there are some nyuansy, which require more detailed discussions.
В принципе согласен, но есть некоторые ньюансы, которые требуют более детального обсуждения.