4. Intellectual
Property and
Ethics on the Web
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Intellectual
Property
“The physical
expression of ideas
contained in books,
music, plays, movies,
and computer
software.”
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What Is Plagiarism?
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Proper Attribution
• Any time you source someone
else's words or ideas, they
MUST be given credit by linking
to that thought or quote.
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Copyright
• Copyright infringement is
a legal issue.
• Copyright infringement
occurs when works
protected by copyright
are used without
consent.
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Copyright
• Misunderstanding that
registration is required to
obtain copyright.
• Copyright is secured
automatically upon
creation.
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Copyright
• As a real estate
professional, assume that
everything you see on
the Web is copyrighted,
unless you have reason to
believe otherwise.
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Protecting Your Content
and Respecting Others
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6 Levels of Creative Commons
Licenses
•Attribution
•Attribution Share Alike
•Attribution No Derivatives
•Attribution Non-Commercial
•Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike
•Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives
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Internet Tools to Protect
Your Content
We anticipate that recovery to be very location and price specific in Marin.
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Copyscape
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Someone took my content.
Now what?
1. Contact the individual and politely ask him or her to remove
the content or give you proper attribution.
2. If the individual doesn’t want to remove the material or give
you attribution, you can report him or her to Web site hosts for
violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Use the Internet Archive if there is a question as to when the
content was published.
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Web Site and Blogging
Policies
• They set expectations.
• They talk about how you deal with
problems.
• They talk about how you deal with
Flamers and Internet Trolls.
• They talk about how you deal with
spam.
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Article 12
• Be honest and truthful in real estate
communications.
• Present true picture in advertising,
marketing, and other representations.
• Ensure that status as real estate
professionals is readily apparent in
advertising/marketing/other
representations, and that recipients are, or
have been, notified that those
communications are from real estate
professional.
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Standard of Practice 12-5
• Cannot advertise real estate
services or listed property in any
medium without disclosing name
of REALTOR®’s firm in
reasonable and readily apparent
manner.
• This also applies to people
employed by or affiliated with
REALTORS®.
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Standard of Practice 12-8
• Obligation to present true
picture includes information
on REALTORS®’ Web sites.
• Use reasonable efforts to
ensure that information on
Web sites is current.
• Take prompt and corrective
action when it is apparent
that information is not
current or accurate.
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Standard of Practice 12-9
• REALTOR® firm Web sites shall
disclose the firm’s name and
state(s) of licensure in a reasonable
and readily apparent manner.
• Web sites of REALTORS® and
affiliated non-member licensees
shall disclose firm’s name and that
REALTOR®’s or non-member
licensee’s state(s) of licensure in a
reasonable and readily apparent
manner.
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Standard of Practice 12-10
REALTORS® are prohibited from:
1) Engaging in deceptive or
unauthorized framing of real estate
brokerage Web sites;
2) Manipulating listing content that
produces a deceptive or misleading
result; or
3) Deceptively using metatags,
keywords or other devices/methods
to direct/drive/divert Internet traffic,
or to otherwise mislead consumers.
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Standard of Practice 12-11
• REALTORS® intending to share or
sell consumer information
gathered via the Internet shall
disclose that possibility in a
reasonable and readily apparent
manner.
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Standard of Practice 12-12
REALTORS® shall not:
1) Use URLs or domain names
that present less than a true
picture
2) Register URLs or domain
names which, if used, would
present less than a true
picture
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Article 15
REALTORS® shall not knowingly or recklessly make false or
misleading statements about competitors, their businesses, or
their business practices.
• SOP 15-2 (updated 1/10) obligation to refrain from making
false or misleading statements updated to include the internet
• SOP 15-3 (adopted 1/10) adds obligation to
make a clarifying statement or remove
statements in blog comments made by
others if they are false or misleading
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Social Media Landmines
• Always make sure that your company
name and professional status are
apparent on every electronic
communication you make.
• Be careful about posting information
about your meetings with clients or
other real estate professionals.
• Don’t complain, brag, or even talk
about your client’s reactions to
property.
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Fair Housing
Fair housing issues legislated by:
• Civil Rights Act of 1866
• Fair Housing Act
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Your state and local laws
In addition, REALTORS® are obligated under Article 10 of NAR’s Code of
Ethics, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex,
handicap, familial status, or national origin, or sexual orientation in
providing professional services or in our hiring practices
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Fair Housing
• Anytime we interact in
social environments online
we are still obligated by fair
housing laws and
regulations and NAR’s
Code of Ethics
• Remember, even your
tweets on Twitter and your
Facebook news feed are
forms of publication
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