One of my mainstream companies has the term "Realtor" in it. I have not been marketing it too much but received this letter today from the NAR (National Association of Realtors).
[Start Letter]
RE: Improper Use of the REALTOR Marks - xxxxxrealtors.com
Dear Mr. Brenner:
Your Internet domain name, xxxrealtors.com, has been identified by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS as one in which the membership marks of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (National Association) are used as a part of the domain name. The domain name came to our attention as a result of our monitoring of the Internet for use of the REALTOR membership marks. Upon review, we noted that you had also used the membership mark in the name of your company.
Mr. Brenner, perhaps you did not realize that the terms REALTOR, REALTORS, and REALTOR-ASSOCIATE, as well as the REALTOR block "R" logo, are all federally registered collective membership marks owned by the National Association. Collective membership marks are a type of trademark, which, rather than indicating the source of a product or service, identify the user of the membership mark as a member of a particular group, in this case the National Association.
The National Association and its constituent state and local associations (approximately 1500 in the United States) also use the REALTOR marks to identify products and services provided by the various levels (local, state and national) of the REALTOR organization. Because members of the National Association and the public associate the REALTOR marks with participation in the REALTOR organization, the National Association has established a comprehensive program to monitor the proper use of its marks.
The National Association must maintain a careful watch over products and services that utilize the REALTOR marks in their marketing to real estate professionals. There is a serious risk of confusion regarding the sponsorship, endorsement or participation of the National Association in connection with such products. Because of this risk, the National Association does not license third parties to use its marks in connection with the names of the products and services of those third parties.
To eliminate this potential source of conflict, we would appreciate your cooperation in revising your site, your domain name and the name of your company to eliminate the use of the membership marks. Many times this is as simple as substituting an appropriate job title for the term being used, for example, real estate broker can often be used without making any other changes to the text. If you would like to read more about trademarks and the rights of trademark owners, there are a number of sites on the Internet, which address this topic.
We are attempting to track our efforts in connection with the Internet and request that you acknowledge your understanding of this request for your cooperation and provide us with your estimate of when we can expect to see your site updated. Our e-mail address is
[email protected]. Thank you for your help and we look forward to receiving your reply.
XXXXXX, Trademark Administrator
Legal Affairs Department
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
430 N. Michigan
Chicago, IL 60611-4087
[end letter]
Can I put into the footer of my site, "This site is in no way affiliated with the NAR or Realtors"? I invested thousands in this company and this would REALLY bite ass if I had to shut it down.
