It's Curbed's first week of existence, and we thought things were going pretty well. (The site is today's Yahoo! Pick of the Day.) Then we checked our email:
Dear Sirs;Whattaya know? We checked the dictionary, and it's true: we're misusing a service mark. Lawyers interested in taking on this sure-to-be-groundbreaking First Amendment case are encouraged to drop us a line, preferably before we're carted away in chains. Thanks!
I have just been introduced to your site and am amazed at the depth and breadth of the information contained therein. I noted your links to the right of your home page; you have a section titled Realtors -- which is a copyrighted term and cannot be used by anyone or any real estate firm that is not a member of NAR -- the National Association of Realtors. The companies you have linked there are NOT REALTORS and you must remove that heading or list only those real estate firms in Manhattan that have earned the title Realtor.
· Dictionary: Realtor [dictionary.com]
· When is a real estate agent a REALTOR? [realtor.com]
· Yahoo! Picks of the Day: Curbed [picks.yahoo.com]