Call for Action: Stop Costly Patent Trolls + Calling all brokers update - Arizona REALTOR® Voice

Click here to ask your U.S. Representative to support H.R. 9 and protect the real estate industry.

Next week, House Resolution 9, a.k.a. the Innovation Act, is scheduled for consideration on the House floor. Designed to deter so-called “patent trolls” who threaten litigation on behalf of patent owners, H.R. 9 was written to reduce the types of lawsuits that have already cost REALTOR® organizations millions of dollars.

“In 2007, many associations and MLSs across the country received demand letters regarding a patent being asserted by a patent troll commonly referred to as CIVIX,” wrote NAR SVP and General Counsel Katherine Johnson in the Spring 2014 edition of REALTOR® AE.

“CIVIX claimed that essentially all MLS systems infringe on its patents,” Johnson continued. “Although paying the $7.5 million demand may have been the best business decision in the CIVIX case, it’s not the only option when responding to demand letters.”

The Innovation Act was crafted to reduce vague lawsuits by asking patent owners to provide details and evidence for each and every claim of alleged infringement, or be subject to fines for failure to do so.

Calling all Brokers

As a broker, have you ever wondered which one of your agents responds to the REALTOR® issued Calls For Action? If so, wonder no more.

In order for the broker to know which of their agents completed the CFA, the broker needs to log-on using the link below to access the information. The broker will see the screen shot (Virginia Cook REALTORS® is an example) below the link, and can just clink on the “Agent Report” button next to any Call For Action.

In this case, it is “Stop Patent Trolls.” It will show the broker’s agents who have NOT responded. So while it isn’t a percentage, the broker can easily calculate the number of agents who haven’t responded vs. the total number of agents within the company. As an added bonus, the broker can click on the link on the page of non-responding agents to send them a reminder email to complete the CFA.