Subscribers have advised us that photographs of Listed Properties that they have taken and that appeared in their Listings with MLS PIN have been re-used without their consent by other Subscribers in their subsequent Listings of the same Property.
In general, a Participant or Subscriber that takes a photograph of a Listed Property may have certain property rights in that photograph and may control its re-use. The appearance of the photograph in a Listing on MLS PIN's multiple listing service does not in itself serve as a consent to the re-use of the photograph by another Participant or Subscriber.
If you have become the Listing Broker for a previously Listed Property, and if in your listing you wish to re-use a photograph taken by or for the original Listing Broker, you should first contact the original Listing Broker and ask for permission to re-use the photograph. You should not use a photograph in your Listing unless you have taken the photograph yourself (or had it taken for you) or unless you have obtained prior permission to use the photograph from the person who has taken it.
It is your responsibility, and not the responsibility of MLS PIN, to obtain permission to re-use a photograph that was not taken by or for you. Failure to obtain that permission may expose you to liability to a party that has ownership rights in the photograph. Resolution of a dispute over ownership rights may not be available through arbitration and may result in litigation.
By Filing a Listing with MLS PIN that includes a photograph of the Listed Property, you are not only representing the accuracy and completeness of the Listing data and information that you File for that Listed Property, including any photographs of the Property; you are also effectively representing that you have the right to make that Filing and to use that photograph.
If you are uncertain about your rights to use a photograph in a Listing, in advertising or for any other purpose, you should consult your legal advisors.
