December 8th - 2008

Why it’s important to protect trademarks

Being a member of organized real estate has many benefits including the right to call yourself a REALTOR®.

Being a member of organized real estate has many benefits including the right to call yourself a REALTOR®. The term REALTOR® lets people know you have reached a higher standard in the profession, that you are a member of a professional association and abide by a strict code of ethics. Only members of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) are licensed to use the REALTOR® trademark.
 
Protecting the REALTOR® trademark as well as MLS® and other CREA–owned trademarks through proper usage is important to maintain the value they extend to members. Trademarks used correctly are associated with standards of high quality or care and the public looks upon these marks as a guarantee of repeated high quality and care.
 
Not only is the proper form of the REALTOR® trade-mark important, the context of its use is also critical because it protects the distinctive meaning of the term REALTOR®. Keep in mind that REALTOR® must be used to mean membership in CREA, not to describe a vocation or profession. For example, an expression like 'John Doe is a registered Realtor' is incorrect for two reasons. Firstly, because REALTOR® is not capitalized with the ® symbol, and secondly, because the adjective ‘registered' gives the trade-mark a generic meaning. Such generic use is improper and can weaken the mark. The term REALTOR® must never be used as a synonym for 'broker' or 'salesperson' or any other real estate job. Instead you could say 'John Doe, REALTOR®, is a registered real estate broker.’
 
CREA, on behalf of REALTORS®, makes great efforts to preserve and protect its trademarks in the public eye through its National Advertising Campaign. Trademarks such as Band-Aid, Xerox and Kleenex among others have been successfully preserved through this type of advertising, combined with constant vigilance.
 
Common mistakes
The preservation of these trademarks is so important that CREA’s REALTOR® Code has a specific section – Article 26 – to deal with them. But, despite the potential sanctions associated with a breach of Article 26, according to CREA’s legal department, trademark infractions are all too common. The mistakes they see most often involve improper use of domain names where MLS® is used in the URL or a Web address that uses REALTOR® improperly such as www.joethesuperrealtor.com. In an effort to educate members and help them to comply with trademark rules, CREA has a trademark manual called “Protecting our Corporate Identity,” which is available online at www.realtorlink.ca. To avoid the improper use of its trademarks, CREA suggests members consult the trademark manual and, when in doubt, contact them before developing any advertising or setting up a Web site.
 
Develop your trademark knowledge
Here are some of the dos and don’ts of trademark usage from CREA’s Protecting our Corporate Identity manual:
 
REALTOR®
Only members of The Canadian Real Estate Association are allowed to use the REALTOR® marks in reference to themselves or their real estate business. If the phrase "member of The Canadian Real Estate Association" cannot be logically substituted for the term REALTOR®, then the term REALTOR® must not be used. Also, REALTOR® must never be used as a synonym for a broker, salesperson, or any other real estate professional job.

  1. The correct use of the word REALTOR® or REALTORS® is all capitals, followed by the registered ® symbol.
  2. The term REALTOR® or REALTORS® cannot form any part of a firm name, incorporated business name or business logo.
  3. The term REALTOR® can be used in E-mail and Web site addresses, but only in conjunction with your name or your firm’s name, such as johnjones-realtor.ca and johnjones-realtor@sympatico.ca, NOT muskokarealtor.ca or superrealtor@rogers.com.

MLS® and Multiple Listing Service®

  1. MLS® is a trade-mark registered to identify the standard of services rendered by members of CREA (i.e., REALTORS®) and means so much more than a system of selling properties. The mark is never to be used as a noun and never to be used to mean a “database”. “I put my listing on the MLS®” offends both of these rules and should never be used.
  2. One of the tools used by REALTORS® in providing MLS® services is their board's MLS® System – and that is the proper terminology to be used when describing the co-operative selling system operated by a real estate board. “I put my listing on TREB’s MLS® System” is proper usage of the MLS® trademark. CREA's Rules for Use of the MLS® mark state that this mark must only be used in reference to real estate boards and not any other databases. For example, “Search the Toronto Real Estate Board's MLS® system listings” would be a correct use.
  3. Only a real estate board is licensed to use the MLS® trademark in association with its co-operative selling systems. Therefore, when referring to an “MLS® system” you must always be referring to a real estate board’s MLS® System. No other property database can be identified with the MLS® marks.
  4. The MLS® logo – “the three houses” – must never be altered or combined with any other logos, or be used to create a ‘new’ MLS® logo.
  5. The MLS® “three-houses” logos and www.mls.ca hyperlink cannot be used as a link to the www.REALTOR.ca Web site (formerly www.mls.ca) – there is a special “REALTOR.ca” button for that purpose, available on the REALTOR Link® Web site.
  6. The initials MLS® and the term Multiple Listing Service® must never be used as part of an individual member’s Web site domain name or E-mail address.

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For more information contact

Ontario Real Estate Association

Jean-Adrien Delicano

Manager, Media Relations

JeanAdrienD@orea.com

416-445-9910 ext. 246

Ontario Real Estate Association
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The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license.

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