Rivals File Lawsuit Against Zillow for Alleged Copyright Theft and Antitrust Misdeeds
In a landmark lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in New York, CoStar Group, the real estate data and analytics company, has accused Zillow of systematically using nearly 47,000 copyrighted real estate photos without permission. The lawsuit alleges that Zillow has not only displayed these images on its own sites but has also syndicated them to competitors Realtor.com and Redfin through partnerships [1][2][3][4][5].
CoStar claims that Zillow's infringement is extensive and deliberate, noting that Zillow had the technical ability to screen out CoStar’s watermarked photographs but failed to do so. The company considers this "systematic infringement" to be outrageous and seeks permanent injunctive relief and damages potentially exceeding $1 billion [1][3][4].
Andy Florance, CoStar's founder and CEO, stated that Zillow is profiting from decades of CoStar’s invested work and that if Realtor.com and Redfin do not immediately remove CoStar’s images, CoStar is prepared to sue them as well [1][3][4].
The implications for Zillow’s partnerships with Realtor.com and Redfin are significant. CoStar claims Zillow has been distributing the copyrighted images to these competitors through syndication agreements, thereby exposing Realtor.com and Redfin to potential legal liability as well [2][3][4].
Moreover, CoStar has publicly threatened to sue Realtor.com and Redfin if they do not remove CoStar’s images immediately, escalating the risk for these companies and possibly affecting their content partnerships with Zillow [3][4]. This lawsuit could disrupt content-sharing arrangements between Zillow and its competitors, impacting the availability and legality of rental listing photos on these platforms.
It's important to note that the Compass lawsuit does not allege that Zillow is using copyright-sensitive information beyond the reuse of photographs. In some cases, Zillow allegedly lets registered property owners and landlords "claim" CoStar-owned photographs, with the claimed pictures then used to generate subsidiary rental listings and additional income [5].
Zillow, which generates revenue directly from the use of CoStar-owned photographs, has not responded publicly to the allegations. However, the lawsuit claims that Zillow repeatedly used CoStar-owned images, some of which were subsequently sold to competitors including Realtor.com and Redfin [2].
CoStar, owner of Homes.com and Apartments.com, has filed a separate lawsuit against Zillow for this alleged copyright infringement. The lawsuit accuses Zillow of violating federal antitrust law by effectively "gatekeeping" home listings [4].
This is a developing story, and we will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as more information becomes available.
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-20/costar-sues-zillow-for-using-thousands-of-copyrighted-images [2] https://www.wsj.com/articles/costar-sues-zillow-for-copyright-infringement-11621423739 [3] https://www.reuters.com/legal/regulatory/costar-sues-zillow-for-copyright-infringement-2021-05-20/ [4] https://www.law360.com/articles/1365469/costar-sues-zillow-for-antitrust-violations-copyright-infringement [5] https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2021/05/20/costar-sues-zillow-for-copyright-infringement.html
In light of CoStar's antitrust lawsuit against Zillow for systematically using thousands of copyrighted real estate photos, the company threatens to also sue Realtor.com and Redfin for sharing these images through their partnerships, potentially exposing these businesses to legal liability. Additionally, CoStar claims Zillow's antitrust violations include gatekeeping home listings, which is a federal offense.
