1. Stay Compliant When Uploading Photos

When uploading photos to the MLS, do not use photos that you don’t have permission to use, including photos copied from the MLS or any other third-party websites.    Put another way, if you did not create the media (photos or videos) that you want to use, you must get sufficient permission from the person or business that did create the media, or who has sufficient rights to the media, before you can upload the content to the MLS. 

CRMLS has encountered many cases where the property sellers have provided photos to their listing broker/agent, but the sellers did not own or have rights to the photos. In many of these cases, the actual owner of the photos has reported the misuse, and citations have been issued to those listing brokers/agents because they did not verify with the seller that sufficient rights to the photos were in place. Listing Brokers and Agents should remember that even if it is their seller who provides them photos, sufficient rights must be in place prior to uploading the photos.  

Rule 11.5 reads, “The Listing Broker must possess the proper written authorization to use media obtained from third parties including photographers.  By submitting any media to the MLS, the Participant and Subscriber represent and warrant that they own the right to reproduce and display the media or they have procured such rights and all necessary licenses from appropriate parties”.

Written documentation may include but is not limited to the C.A.R. PIA (Property Images Agreement) form, or an otherwise acceptable assignment of rights or license agreement.   Whichever document you use, it must provide an irrevocable, unrestricted, transferable, perpetual, royalty-free, and non-exclusive (with right to sublicense) right to the MLS to use, store, reproduce, compile, display and distribute the media as part of its compilation.

It is important to remember that rights to use photos that the broker or agent have obtained from another party shall be fully set forth in writing that must be in place prior to the submission of the subject media to the MLS.

For further information on photos and media, please click here https://kb.crmls.org/knowledgebase/compliance-faqs-photographs-and-media/

2. Authorized Entry of Listings and Co-Listings into the MLS

As a reminder, reciprocal access members are not allowed to co-list properties in the MLS.  Reciprocal access members may only enter a listing in the MLS via a CRMLS Participant or Subscriber.  Only agents which are CRMLS Participants or Subscribers or members of our data share partners are allowed to co-list in CRMLS platforms.