Real Estate Alliance Ltd. ("REAL") and inventor Mark Tornetta announced today that REAL, which owns Tornetta's patents for graphical and drilldown-mapping methods used to locate real estate online, has settled its patent infringement claims against top real estate broker Robert Freedman. Mr. Freedman is one of 35 defendants, including the National Association of Realtors (NAR:NAR), named in an action brought by REAL in Los Angeles federal court earlier this year. REAL's infringement claims target websites such as Realtor.com, which is NAR's official website, and others that have used the patented methods without permission.
Freedman, who is based in Manhattan Beach, California and is one of the most successful real estate agents in the United States, has released an open letter to other NAR members (which can be found online at www.real989.com; Downloads; Freedman Open Letter) accusing the Association of wasting millions of dollars in its legal fight against Tornetta and REAL. NAR seeks to invalidate the two lawfully obtained U.S. patents (Nos. 4,480,576 and 5,032,989) that were granted Tornetta by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office more than 15 years ago. Details of Freedman's settlement with REAL remain confidential.
The pending federal action, which continues against the remaining defendants, proposes five nationwide classes and seeks full compensation for the alleged industry-wide, intentional, and massive patent infringement. The action names some of the nation's largest real estate firms and seeks to certify classes of agents, brokers, home builders, rental property owners/managers, and multiple listing services (MLSs).
It is estimated that hundreds of billions of dollars in real estate transactions have been facilitated by the unlawful infringement of the patents. Websites such as Realtor.com, which is operated by MOVE, Inc., attract an estimated 10 million unique visitors every month and list more than three million homes for sales on any given day.
In his letter, Freedman charges that NAR willfully disregarded REAL's patents over nearly the last decade, making what he calls a "serious mistake" that has "disserved more than a million real estate agents across the United States" and "potentially hurt people who have bought or sold properties across the United States." In addition, he points out that NAR has spent years fighting Tornetta and REAL's efforts to enforce the patents, without informing Association members of the full story. "I am disappointed that NAR would use my listings in ways that were potentially infringing on someone's patents without at least letting its members know that there was a possible issue looming that could cause its members harm," he writes. "I think we should be trying to do the right thing and pay those who have helped form the groundwork for our Internet business fair compensation for their added value."
Freedman says he is demanding that NAR reimburse him for the cost of the settlement, writing, "It turns out that NAR has spent millions of our dues dollars in the past three years to fight the inventor. I don't know about you, but that's not the way I do business. ... I think it's time to negotiate in good faith for appropriate licensing fees for this technology for the time it was being used and move on."
He concludes, "whether or not NAR does right by me, I hope you'll join me in urging NAR to stop its attempts to destroy this inventor by trying to spend him to death, to pay what they may rightfully owe him, and certainly to stop spending our money wastefully without our full knowledge if not our full agreement."
As previously reported, REAL has retained the international law firm of Proskauer Rose LLP to head, manage, and lead the major litigation effort. Recognized as a "litigation powerhouse," Proskauer has approximately 750 lawyers.
More information about the lawsuit, as well as a copy of Freedman's letter, are available at www.real989.com.