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Is Your MLS Property Entry Protected by Copyright Law?

By James Kimmons, About.com

Images or Photos are Almost Always Protected by Copyright:
If you take photos of a home for listing in the MLS and use in your ads and marketing materials, they are protected by copyright law. Whether you can prove they are your photos is another matter. Watermarking or copyright notices on the photos are one way.
Your Property Descriptions are Your Original Creative Work:
When you write out that glowing description of the home, with all of the enticing features descriptions, you've created original content that can be protected from copyright infringement. If it's your original content, then it should be protected from unauthorized use.
Compilations of Factual Data Can Be Protected Also:
Just because the facts are that the home has three bedrooms, two full baths, a dining room, a whirlpool tub, etc., it doesn't mean that your presentation on the internet isn't protected. The way in which the material is presented is considered. Just listing it isn't necessarily a protected presentation, but the way that it's formatted on the screen or printed page could be.
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