Protect the Realtor® brand There’s no doubt about it: The Realtor brand, coined in 1916 and owned by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), creates value for real estate professionals. When you use it to proclaim your membership in the association and your commitment to the Code of Ethics, its value transfers to you, but what rules govern its use and protect its value?
NAR licenses individual Association members to “use Realtor, Realtors, Real-Associate and the Realtor logo and block ‘R’ in connection with or in reference to themselves and their real estate businesses.” However, there are five limitations on use to protect the brands’ value: exclusively for members, only for real estate business, geographic limitation, context of use and form of use.
While all limitations help protect the Association’s brand, context of use is critical because it protects the distinctive meaning of Realtor. It should be used only in a context that the public would understand to mean membership in the National Association and not, for example, to describe a vocation or profession. Test context by substituting the word member for Realtor, and if the public would interpret the meaning or intended message as unchanged and not compromised, then Realtor is appropriately used.
For example, expressions like “I’m a Realtor” or “John Doe is a licensed Realtor” are incorrect because the speaker does not mean that he or she makes a living as a “member.” To make sense, the public would assign the meaning “real estate agent” to the term Realtor. For the same reason descriptive words or phrases such as biggest, professional or America’s should not be used with the term Realtor. Incorrect context contributes to a misunderstanding of the mark’s unique and specific meaning that is so vital to its value and protection as a brand.
Take the time to know the rules and help protect the Association’s marks by using them properly and reporting improper uses to your local Board.
© Copyright 2008 Florida Association of Realtors®