NAR to MLSs: ‘Help us protect the Realtor brand’
An association attorney said NAR is stepping up trademark enforcement. “We don't want ‘Realtor’ to become synonymous with ‘real estate professional.’”
Key points:
- NAR's associate GC and VP of legal affairs & brand protection told MLS Forum attendees that the association is taking a more proactive approach to preserving its trademark.
- As part of its seven-stage brand protection strategy, NAR plans to leverage AI platforms to help "anticipate threats and prevent infringement before it starts."
- In reference to the Realtor MLS logo, attendees were told that sporting a lapel pin with the logo is not proper use and advised to "just put it into your pocket right now."
Kleenex. Escalator. Aspirin. These are all examples of now-generic terms that were once trademarks.
At the Realtors Legislative Meetings last week, NAR's trademark champion implored multiple listing service executives: Don't let "Realtor" join their ranks.
"Many of these words used to be amazing trademarks that companies spent hundreds, thousands, millions of dollars protecting, and now they are just part of the ordinary common vernacular, and we don't want that to happen," Leslie Nettleford-Freeman, NAR's associate general counsel and vice president of legal affairs and brand protection, told attendees at the event's MLS Forum.
"We don't want 'Realtor' to become synonymous with 'real estate professional.'"
A Realtor is a member of the National Association of Realtors, she told attendees, echoing the remarks of a colleague at NAR's Risk Management Issues Committee meeting who emphasized that "Realtor" is not "a job title or credential, and it is not a license or a certification" and should not be used with words that attempt to distinguish between members of NAR, such as "top" Realtor.
The MLS Forum was closed to press, but Real Estate News was able to obtain a recording of the session.
Moving to AI-powered 'proactive monitoring' of the Realtor brand
Nettleford-Freeman, an intellectual property attorney, took the newly created position at NAR in July 2025.
"I'm really excited about how far we've come," she told attendees, noting that as part of the association's seven-stage brand protection strategy, NAR "just launched a cross-departmental brand protection team, and that allows us to really embed the businesses into our strategy."
"We started out with the foundation and awareness of the Realtor brand, and we have moved from reactive enforcement to proactive monitoring, which I'm really happy about," she said.
NAR is now moving toward automated and scalable enforcement, according to Nettleford-Freeman.
"We're going to be using AI-powered platforms in order to increase automation, and ultimately we want to be poised to anticipate threats and prevent infringement before it starts," she said.
Preventing misuse of MLS logo: 'Do your part'
Nettleford-Freeman came to the MLS executives with a specific ask: Make sure you're using the Realtor MLS logo properly.
She explained that associations of Realtors, MLSs and members can use the MLS logo — but "the MLS must be wholly owned or controlled by the Realtor association, and the governing documents must comply with NAR multiple listing policy," Nettleford-Freeman said.
The MLS logo is "only used for stationery, forms, websites, and [MLS-related] promotional materials," she noted — adding that if anyone had incorporated the logo into a piece of jewelry or a lapel pin, "just put it into your pocket right now."
Regarding co-branding, only an MLS's own logo may appear with the Realtor MLS logo, Nettleford-Freeman said. MLSs that are not Realtor association-owned may not use the Realtor marks, and neither can MLS participants who are not Realtors. If non-members are advertising their MLS participation, they must clearly disclose their non-member status, she added.
"To do otherwise would be a misrepresentation and would violate the registration rights and Realtor trademarks of NAR, the lawful owner of these collective membership marks."
Nettleford-Freeman encouraged attendees to report any instances of trademark misuse, which members can do via NAR's Realtor Brand Infringement Intake Form.
"We really ask that you do your part," she said. "We ask you to preserve the integrity of the brand. No modifications. Use the MLS logo only as permitted in the Handbook of Multiple Listing Policy, and let us know if you see anything. Help us protect the brand."