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Are you sure about this? It would seem then that Zillow could then refuse to allow the photos to be used on a competing site or MLS.
Something I found online...from another blog.
"They did send me a much nicer letter that Zillow VP of communications and public affairs Katie Curnette sent to Wagner today. I’ll reprint the whole thing below, but here’s the key line: “We do not own the rights to many of the photos on our site, and therefore can’t give permission for third parties, such as yourself, to take the photos from our website for any purpose."
I've gone round and round with customer service on the fact that they keep the photos that are uploaded via the MLS on their site after homes are sold. I reread the TOS for my area and they clearly state that you are assigning your rights to them.
She doesn't have the right to use any photos off of Zillow or anywhere else without consent from the owner of the rights. She isn't a comedian or satirical site.
I am definitely not a Z apologist, but hope they prevail in this instance.
When one takes a RETS feed from an MLS, one agrees to protect the data from scraping by a third party.
Here is the follow up letter sent to the errant blogger:
"Dear Kate,
Over the past day, we’ve had a lot of questions from the media about the cease and desist our legal team sent to you. I understand why – your blog is well-loved by its many fans.
I wanted to write to both thank you for taking down the photos, but also to give you a little bit of context around the request.
Mostly, though, I want to stress that we do not want you to take down your blog. We hope you will be able to resume your writing and find other sources for photos.
As for why we requested you remove the photos from Zillow – we do not own the rights to many of the photos on our site, and therefore can’t give permission for third parties, such as yourself, to take the photos from our website for any purpose. We get them from brokerages and MLSs who are advertising homes for sale and through those agreements we have an obligation to protect the interest of the copyright holders who license the images to Zillow.
We are happy to answer any questions about this, and I sincerely hope you are able to find other sources for photos.
Best,
Katie Curnutte"
Z will win, based on the bolded section.
All the blogger has to do is buy a camera and shoot her own photos for her blog, like any ethical blogger would have done from the start.
Issue resolved.
Personally, I hate what mcmansion has been doing. No, I do not own one of these mansions, but I sure as he'll wouldn't like it if someone pokes fun at my home.
She spends most of her time making fun of people's decor. Low-hanging fruit. She offers very little in the way of true architectural critique.
She has said her favorite style of architecture for residential home is Brutalism. Ok dokey but I certainly am not going to put much stock into your opinion
She spends most of her time making fun of people's decor. Low-hanging fruit. She offers very little in the way of true architectural critique.
She has said her favorite style of architecture for residential home is Brutalism. Ok dokey but I certainly am not going to put much stock into your opinion
I agree
I read it once and it was just making fun of people's furniture or light fixtures.
There was very little of architecture or home functionality being discussed.
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