An appeals court has ruled in favor of real estate professionals, helping preserve a valuable marketing tool. Real estate listings can include floorplans of copyrighted home designs without violating copyright law, the court affirmed, because that is a fair use of the designs.
On January 14, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a lower court’s decision that agents from two Missouri brokerages had not violated the rights of the home designer who sued them for copyright infringement. Agents with Columbia House of Brokers Realty, Inc. and The Susan Horak Group RE/MAX Boone Realty each listed a home for resale that had originally been designed by Charles James of Designworks Homes, Inc. The agents created floorplans to show the dimensions and layout of the homes in their listings.
The court found that the floorplans served an informational purpose and pointed out that widespread use of floorplans in real estate listings was likely to benefit the designer. The court said that “the homes should, on average, resell more quickly or for a higher price than they would absent the use of floorplans,” which would allow the designer to charge more for designs and homes.
The clear value for REALTORS® nationwide in being able to continue using floorplans in their listings made it a priority for NAR to be involved in this case throughout the nearly six years of legal proceedings, providing three amicus filings and multiple rounds of financial support. In a program similar to the one Texas REALTORS® has on the state level with its Legal Fund, NAR’s Legal Action Program supports members who are involved in litigation that could significantly affect the real estate industry.