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Ruth Gabbard Licensed Real Estate Broker, Honolulu, HI

Date: December 28, 2007

12/28/2007 @ 8:45 PM HST

Bridget Fredericks:

P.S. I hope you all know that "BR" in my domain name stands for Baton Rouge and not some other meaning for "BR". I wouldn't want to present a less than true picture in my domain name!

Aloha Bridget:

That's just too funny, especially since one of my nicknames on another listserv is "BR", too (which stands for Baby Ruth). LOL

With Warmest Aloha,

Ruth A. Gabbard (R), CRB, CRS, SRES, PB
Gabbard Hawaii Properties | Honolulu, Hawaii
808-534-1850 | 877-ALOHA HI (256-4244) Toll Free
E-mail: realtalk@hawaii-properties.info

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John Johnson Licensed Real Estate Agent, CA

Date: December 29, 2007

I like the revised Article 12 of the COE. I have seen instances of false advertising, use of false credentials, and as many of you are aware - false testimonials.

I read proposed revisions of this article earlier this year and submitted suggestions (neither of which were adopted).

I do not agree with the new case interpretation. I have heard many times that it was a mistake to not trademark "MLS" years ago. This does not seem to be the way to correct that mistake. The example "northwoodsandlakesmls.com" does look like it is an actual MLS and it makes me wonder if adding "search" at the beginning or end would be acceptable.

As Andrew Wetzel pointed out, "myname.com" may violate Article 12 because it does NOT "...ensure that their status as real estate professionals is readily apparent..."

I appreciate the time and effort that was put into these revisions but I think this may need to be re-revised!

John Johnson
Tarbell, REALTORS®
Hemet, California 92545

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Merv Burgard Real Estate Attorney

Date: December 29, 2007

In Canada the initials MLS and the term Multiple Listing Service are
trademarks of the Canadian Real Estate Association. One of their rules is
that the initials MLS and the term Multiple Listing Service must never be
used as part of an individual member's web site domain name (URL) or email
address.

Merv.

************

Mervin Burgard, Q.C.
203-219 Oxford Street West
London, Ontario, Canada N6H 1S5
phone: 519-679-9900
fax: 519-679-8546
e-mail: mburgard@ody.ca

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Ruth Gabbard Licensed Real Estate Broker, Honolulu, HI

Date: December 30, 2007

12/29/2007 @ 11:55 PM HST

Donna Marinelli posted:

No, MLS is not copyrighted nor is it trademarked. Fact is that MLS also stands for Major League Soccer. (Tom Scaglione)

I believed that to be true also as I was told that it was not trademarked or copyrighted when I got permission to use MLS in my domain. However, Merv (who's always reliable) posted the following:

Mervin Burgard posted:

In Canada the initials MLS and the term Multiple Listing Service are trademarks of the Canadian Real Estate Association. One of their rules is that the initials MLS and the term Multiple Listing Service must never be
used as part of an individual member's web site domain name (URL) or email address.

Could someone clarify? And Donna, I'm in agreement with your post. Well written.

With Warmest Aloha,

Ruth A. Gabbard (R), CRB, CRS, SRES, PB
Gabbard Hawaii Properties | Honolulu, Hawaii
808-534-1850 | 877-ALOHA HI (256-4244) Toll Free
E-mail: realtalk@hawaii-properties.info

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freds@sempre.com

Date: December 30, 2007

>>Ruth wrote:

>>Donna Marinelli posted:

Mervin Burgard posted:

In Canada the initials MLS and the term Multiple Listing Service are trademarks of the Canadian Real Estate Association. One of their rules is that the initials MLS and the term Multiple Listing Service must never be
used as part of an individual member's web site domain name (URL) or email address.

Could someone clarify? <<

CIPO - A Guide to Trade-marks
<http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/tm/tm_gd_main-e.html>

Fred
fsalzer@sempre.com
Poway, CA

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Tom Scaglione Licensed Real Estate Agent, Lutz, FL

Date: December 30, 2007

John,

The cat is out of the bag concerning the initials MLS and it is too late to trademark this. What we need to do is change the name of our Cooperative Multiple Listing Service to something like â€œBLCâ€ Brokerâ€™s Listing Cooperative or something similar and trademark it. I believe some Local Multiple Listing Services across the country have done something like that already. Fact is NAR should have made that change rather then pass a voluntary new MLS Rule that means nothing to anyone that is not a member of our Trade Association. So we can stop all our members from using the term MLS but not anyone that is not a member of NAR. Boy does that make senseâ€¦ Ha Ha!

.
Sincerely,
.
Tom Scaglione, ABRÂ®, e-PROÂ®, REALTORÂ®
.
Avalar Realty of Tampa Bay, REALTORSÂ®
1761 W Fletcher Avenue - Tampa FL 33612-1820
.
Off: (813) 969-0801 - Fax: (813) 969-0467 - Cell: (813) 310-8200
.
mailto:Tom@MarketingTampaBay.com
http://www.MarketingTampaBay.com
.
Serving Florida's Tampa Bay Area
.
Relocating anywhere nationally or internationally?
For specific assistance call International Relocation
at 1-800-523-2460 ext M713
.

From: John Johnson [mailto:johnj@tarbell.com]
Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2007 2:16 PM
To: tom@marketingtampabay.com
Subject: RealTalk: Revisions to Article 12 ID004TVP

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Subject:	Revisions to Article 12
Author:	John Johnson (johnj@tarbell.com)
Date:	December 29th, 2007, 10:15 AM PST
ID:	004TVP

I like the revised Article 12 of the COE. I have seen instances of false advertising, use of false credentials, and as many of you are aware - false testimonials.

I read proposed revisions of this article earlier this year and submitted suggestions (neither of which were adopted).

I do not agree with the new case interpretation. I have heard many times that it was a mistake to not trademark "MLS" years ago. This does not seem to be the way to correct that mistake. The example "northwoodsandlakesmls.com" does look like it is an actual MLS and it makes me wonder if adding "search" at the beginning or end would be acceptable.

As Andrew Wetzel pointed out, "myname.com" may violate Article 12 because it does NOT "...ensure that their status as real estate professionals is readily apparent..."

I appreciate the time and effort that was put into these revisions but I think this may need to be re-revised!

John Johnson
Tarbell, REALTORSÂ®
Hemet, California 92545

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Gary Frimann Licensed Real Estate Broker, Gilroy, CA, CA

Date: December 30, 2007

In re: All the discussion on MLS and new Standard of Practice/Code of Ethics.

I’d just like to give my 2 cents worth…

MLS cannot be trademarked. Yacht Brokers have an MLS, and other brokers (maybe motor homes, or truck,etc.) may have one too.

Just like we cannot use the term “realtor” on a domain name, unless it is our own name, and we are a Realtor, believe it or not, the law is there to protect us Realtors. Someone could go out and buy a ton of domain names and then SELL them back to us… That does not stop Realtors from doing it however, and I think the NAR should really crack down on those using “realtor” in a domain name.

Check out this site: http://www.santaclaracountymls.org/

Now, is it apparent that this person is a Realtor??? That is the gist of the argument here, I think. I would say about half the listings on Craigslist do not include the fact that the person posting the listing is an agent. THAT violates CA state law and COE, in and of itself. Further, they don’t include the name of their brokerage, which does not violate state law, but COE. But, they need to disclose they are an agent. I think what is being set up here is if Realtors stop using MLS in their domain name, then the MLSs have reason to go after those that are unauthorized to use MLS. May take a few years, but what can happen is that somebody could get leads and then SELL them back to us… Don’t forget, it is a RESPA violation to advertise to pay a referral fee to an unlicensed person on 1-4 residential.

The issue is complex, and many laws in my state (CA) seem to address what Article 12 is trying to accomplish.

Gary Frimann

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Thomas Johnson Licensed Real Estate Agent, Pearland, TX

Date: December 30, 2007

ensure that their status as real estate professionals is readily apparent..."

I have a great idea! To ensure that real estate professionals are readily apparent, how about something like TomJohnsonRealtorwithMLS.com?

Should work great!

Thomas Johnson

http://www.ERAHouston.com

See AOL's top rated recipes and easy ways to stay in shape for winter.

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Keith Byrd, San Luis Obispo, CA

Date: December 30, 2007

What NAR should do is come up with an alternative name to the MLS, do the proper trademarks, define the rules of use for members, and then have the Associations change to use this new term. With so many REALTORS out there now, it wouldn't take long for this new name to stick. Then they can protect this term the proper way rather than trying to cripple members use of a term that's been out in the public for YEARS without any controls. Keith Byrd www.SloCountyHomes.com San Luis Obispo, CA

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Andrew Wetzel, mba Licensed Real Estate Agent, Havertown, PA

Date: December 31, 2007

I hope that the intent of the revisions to Article 12 as far as the
Internet is concerned is NOT to make every URL "obvious" as belonging to a
Realtor but that our occupation would be obvious when you visit ANY page on
our websites (thus formally making the Internet consistent with our
existing rules for print advertisements and giving "teeth" to enforcement).

Changing URLs to include some reference to our occupation would be
burdensome to us and cumbersome to the public. That just would not make
sense.

Andrew

Andrew Wetzel, MBA
ABR/ CSP/ e-PRO/ GRI/ REALTOR/ MEDIATOR
Century 21 Alliance
1100 West Chester Pike
Havertown, PA 19083
Buyer & Seller Agent Licensed in PA. (RS 213448L)
Office: 610.853.2700 x604/ DIRECT: 610.853.5604/ Cell: 610.457.0831
andrew@AndrewWetzel.com
Visit www.AndrewWetzel.com today to view properties!

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