Costar, Zillow Copyright Infringement Case Makes The Move Out West

The legal battle between CoStar and Zillow is making the move across the country. Earlier this month, Judge Edgardo Ramos, who was overseeing the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York City, ruled that the suit could be transferred to district court Seattle. 

In his ruling, Ramos cited filings by both Zillow and CoStar, in which Zillow argued that “convenience and the interests of justice” were better served by transferring the case. CoStar, which initially opposed the transfer, eventually filed a notice of non-opposition, in which the plaintiff wrote that it elected to not oppose transferring the case after information about the majority of witnesses being located in Seattle came to light during discovery. 

In a motion filed in November, Zillow noted that 10 likely witnesses — which include employees in product, engineering, rental sales/partnerships, AI/Zestimate, support, takedown processes and finance roles — are mostly located in the Seattle area. 

Additionally, CoStar’s filing noted that Zillow has other lawsuits pending in the Western District of Washington.

“Accordingly, the Court finds that the convenience of parties and witnesses as well as interests of justice are served by a transfer of this case,” Ramos wrote. 

Originally filed by CoStar, the lawsuit accuses Zillow of “rampant” copyright infringement of rental listing photos. The complaint claims that Zillow’s unauthorized use of CoStar images amounts to one of the largest real estate image infringement cases in history.

In a previous filing, CoStar said that it filed the case in New York due to this concentration of infringements, and because the New York rental market is “central to Zillow’s rental business.”