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Are You Missing the "MARK"?

One thing that our clients have in common is that you are all real estate professionals, and whether or not you are a member of the National Association of REALTORS® or are part of a member board, the word REALTOR®1 is a registered trademark and should not be improperly used.

First, are you are REALTOR®?  If you are a member of the National Association of REALTORS® you have permission to use the designation of REALTOR®.  If you are not a member, you cannot utilize the service mark.  Whether or not this makes you more or less qualified is not the issue at hand, and is up to each agent to decide.  The issue is that legally, use of the service mark REALTOR® has specific guidelines that must be followed in order to avoid penalties from NAR.

First, consider use of the term REALTOR® in a domain name (website address).  The official NAR Membership Marks Manual says that you must use the mark in reference to a member's name or firm name, and not contain any descriptive words or phrases.  Examples of correct usage would be, BobSmithRealtor.com, RealtorBobSmith.com.  Examples of incorrect usage would be, BobIsTheBestRealtor.com, YourDenverRealtor.com, SeaSideRealtor.com.  NOTE: Because of the nature of the Internet, NAR does not require that proper capitalization be used in domain names or email addresses containing the word REALTOR®.

You may have passed muster on your domain name, but what about your website?  Just as in the case of domain names, the term REALTOR® may not be used with any descriptive word or phrase on your website.  For example, stating that you are "the best REALTOR® this side of the Mississippi" would not be a proper use of the term.  Even something as simple as saying, "Mary Jones, Your Denver REALTOR®" is not proper usage.  When referring to yourself as a REALTOR® (a member of the National Association of REALTORS®) you must do so by separating it from your name with a comma, and only use it with your name.  For example, proper usage would be, "Mary Jones, REALTOR®". 

Rule of Thumb

A Trademark Administrator for the National Association of REALTORS® has recommended this quick check when using the term REALTOR® in your materials; "substitute the phrase 'member of the National Association of REALTORS®' for the term REALTOR® in a sentence. If the intended meaning of that sentence is not changed, then REALTOR® is properly used. On the other hand if the sentence either makes no sense or doesn't reflect the writer's intent, then you should substitute the appropriate job title where it is real estate agent, broker, appraiser or whatever was intended."

Ready for a POP QUIZ?!

We've reviewed some important aspects of utilizing the REALTOR® service mark in your domain name and on your website, now it's time to put your knowledge to the test.  Are you missing the "mark"?  Find out by taking the REALTOR® Trademark Quiz at REALTOR.org.  Good Luck!

For further information on the correct usage of the term REALTOR®, please refer to the NAR Membership Marks Manual at REALTOR.org.

1 REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a Member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.


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