Costar Sues Zillow For “rampant” Copyright Infringement Of Real Estate Photos

CoStar Group filed a federal lawsuit today accusing Zillow of mass copyright infringement, alleging the listings giant unlawfully published more than 46,000 of its copyrighted real estate photos — many watermarked — on Zillow.com, as well as on Redfin and Realtor.com.

Filed in U.S. District Court in New York, the complaint claims that Zillow’s unauthorized use of CoStar images amounts to one of the largest real estate image infringement cases in history. The lawsuit comes amid a broader push by CoStar, which owns Apartments.com and Homes.com, to protect its multibillion-dollar investment in real estate data and photography.

“Zillow’s theft of tens of thousands of CoStar Group’s copyrighted photographs is nothing short of outrageous,” said Andy Florance, founder and CEO of CoStar Group, in a statement. “Zillow is profiting from decades of CoStar Group work and the billions of dollars we have invested.”

The lawsuit also alleges Zillow’s infringement is magnified through its partnerships with Redfin and Realtor.com, which now feature multifamily listings provided solely by Zillow. According to the complaint, CoStar images have been displayed more than 250,000 times on Zillow’s site alone.

CoStar claims Zillow is a repeat offender, referencing a prior copyright infringement case in which Zillow was ordered to pay millions after a jury found it liable in a lawsuit brought by VHT, a real estate photography firm.

“If these other sites do not immediately remove our images, we will have no choice but to sue them as well,” Florance added. “We are committed to stopping this systematic infringement and holding the wrongdoers to account.”

CoStar says it holds the largest collection of real estate photographs in the world, producing more than 2 million original images annually through a network of in-house and contracted photographers.