If a house you sold five years ago comes back on the market, you can surely just use the same photos you hired a professional to take back then to list the house now, right? Not necessarily… Reusing old listing photos can end up getting you in some pretty big legal trouble, if not done properly. Since listing photographs may be taken by homeowners, real estate agents, brokerage employees, or professional photographers, those photographs may be owned or licensed to different parties in a variety of ways.
When an agent hires a photographer to take photos of a listing, the photographer doesn’t just give them ownership of those photos when they deliver. The contract usually states that the agent is simply being licensed to use those photos for the purpose of listing the house and that they should only be used during that specific time period (until the house sells or is taken off the market for whatever reason).
Photos are the intellectual property of the photographer and many take legal action to protect their rights. For photographers who are selling their photos to be used as stock images or licensing them out for use on websites or for commercial purposes, they stand to lose a lot of money if someone reuses them elsewhere without permission.
Chloe Hecht, Associate Counsel for the National Association of REALTORS® recently discussed the copyright issues relating to listing photographs in NAR’s “Window to the Law” video series. Check out the video below to see what she had to say about how you can protect yourself from infringing on someone else’s copyright:
Make sure you know exactly how long you are licensed to use photos you’ve commissioned from a photographer, and ask the photographer upfront if there are any stipulations around your use of those photos. In fact, you should always get this information in writing. NAR recently provided some great sample agreements you can use when commissioning photographs for a listing.* If you find yourself in the position of needing to re-use old photos and you’re not sure about your previous agreement, simply contact the photographer and ask! Some photographers may request that you pay an additional fee to re-use the photos and others may simply give you the go-ahead to use them. Double checking will ensure you and your company are protected from a legal standpoint.
ListHub’s data protections require that the all real estate search websites in the ListHub network remove all of the listing photos once a house is off the market, further protecting brokers and agents from legal issues related to their photos. Click here to learn more about all of ListHub’s data protections.
*These documents are provided as a sample, and are not intended to be and do not constitute legal advice, or a substitute for specific legal advice or opinions. The user of this sample document should not use this document without consulting legal counsel. The use of this document should be modified to address the specific legal needs of the user.
