Press Releases

WASHINGTON - The United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has ruled unanimously in favor of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), holding that the terms "Realtor®" and "Realtors®" function as valid collective service marks belonging to the NAR and are not generic terms. Petitions to cancel NAR's federal registrations of these marks were denied. Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the country, represented NAR in the case of Jacob Zimmerman v. National Association of Realtors. 

"This is a tremendous victory for our client and protects the critical interests of the users of these marks within the real estate community," said Jeffery A. Handelman, lead counsel for NAR and a shareholder at Brinks. Jerome Gilson of Brinks was co-lead on the legal team, assisted by associate Nicholas G. de la Torre.

In the 39-page opinion announced yesterday, the three Administrative Trademark Judges on the TTAB panel made the affirmative finding in the trademark case that the terms do not refer to all real estate agents, but rather refer only to real estate agents who are members of NAR and one of its local or state associations. The case involved a challenge brought by Jacob Zimmerman, a former Cornell University student who registered 1,900 domain names which contained the term "Realtor®" in hopes of making money selling the Web sites. Zimmerman petitioned to cancel NAR's federal registrations in August 2001. 

Since 1916, when the unique term "Realtor®" was coined, it has come to be recognized as identifying members of the NAR. The association registered the Realtor® marks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1949 and 1950, making them among the first collective marks to be registered in the country.

The National Association of Realtors® (www.realtor.org) is America's largest trade association, representing one million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. 

Founded in 1917, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione is based in Chicago with four other offices across the country and serves the intellectual property needs of clients from around the world. The firm is one of the largest IP law firms in the country, with approximately 150 attorneys who specialize in intellectual property litigation and all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and Internet work, unfair competition and technology and licensing agreements.