Real Estate Dispute: CoStar Sues Zillow Over Copyrighted Photographs
The Zillow website on a laptop arranged in Germantown, New York, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Real estate player CoStar, parent of Homes.com and Apartments.com, is suing Zillow, claiming the online real estate marketplace is using tens of thousands of its copyrighted photographs to prop up its business.
In court documents filed with the Southern District of New York this week, CoStar said it is trying to “redress Zillow’s widespread and systematic infringement of CoStar’s copyrighted photographs, which Zillow has unlawfully exploited to bolster its online rental listings business.”
CoStar claimed in the June 30 filing that Zillow had displayed and profited off of nearly 47,000 CoStar-copyrighted images on Zillow.com and other Zillow sites, with many of the images even including the CoStar watermark.
Extent of the Infringement
In many cases, an image will appear on multiple different Zillow pages and different versions of listings, displaying over 250,000 times, according to the suit.
“Zillow’s misconduct is not limited to the Zillow family of websites. Through lucrative syndication agreements, Zillow is also distributing CoStar’s images to its partnership network of listing websites, hosted by Zillow’s supposed competitors, Realtor.com and Redfin,” CoStar stated in the suit.
CoStar’s Investment in Real Estate Photography
CoStar said in a release that it invested billions of dollars to create “the most comprehensive database of real estate information” including building what it describes as the “world’s largest library of real estate photographs.”
The company said it has employed and hired thousands of professional photographers who have created millions of real estate images, which are owned and copyrighted by CoStar Group.
FOX Business reached out to Zillow for comment.
The Zillow app on a smartphone in Germantown, New York, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
Mounting Legal Challenges for Zillow
This adds to the mounting legal challenges that Zillow is facing. This marks the second time within five weeks that Zillow has been hit with a lawsuit. The first came from real estate brokerage Compass, which filed a 60-page complaint in Manhattan federal court, claiming that Zillow is improperly refusing to list homes on its site that were first listed elsewhere.
Compass, based in Manhattan, is seeking an injunction against Zillow to force them to change their practices, as well as monetary damages.
This photo illustration shows the Zillow website reflected in the logo of the Zillow app in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2023. (Stefani Reynolds / AFP / Getty Images)
Zillow’s Response to the Lawsuits
Seattle-based Zillow has about 160 million homes in its database, receives 227 million unique visitors a month and received 2.4 billion visits between January and March, according to Reuters. They called Compass’ claims “unfounded” and told FOX Business that it “will vigorously defend against them.”
FOX Business’ Pilar Arias contributed to this report.
LINK: Get updates and more at foxbusiness.com.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the lawsuit filed by CoStar against Zillow highlights the importance of protecting intellectual property rights in the real estate industry. The case also raises questions about the practices of online real estate marketplaces and their use of copyrighted materials. As the legal challenges against Zillow continue to mount, it will be interesting to see how the company responds and how the outcome of these lawsuits will impact the real estate industry as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the lawsuit about?
The lawsuit is about CoStar suing Zillow for using tens of thousands of its copyrighted photographs without permission.
Q: How many images is Zillow accused of using without permission?
Zillow is accused of using nearly 47,000 CoStar-copyrighted images on its website and other platforms.
Q: What is CoStar seeking in the lawsuit?
CoStar is seeking to “redress Zillow’s widespread and systematic infringement of CoStar’s copyrighted photographs” and is likely seeking monetary damages and an injunction to stop Zillow from using its images without permission.
Q: Is this the only lawsuit Zillow is facing?
No, this is the second lawsuit Zillow has faced in five weeks. The first lawsuit was filed by real estate brokerage Compass, which claims that Zillow is improperly refusing to list homes on its site that were first listed elsewhere.
Q: How has Zillow responded to the lawsuits?
Zillow has called the claims “unfounded” and has stated that it will “vigorously defend” against them.
