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The patent and trademark office. getty Listings giant Zillow is facing one of the largest copyright lawsuits in history — and the case is a reminder that intellectual property protections are only as strong as their enforcement. In a federal lawsuit filed on July 30th, real estate analytics company CoStar Group accused Zillow of willfully infringing more than 45,000 of its copyrighted photographs, allegedly using them to lure property owners and managers to list on Zillow’s site and purchase advertising. According to CoStar, Zillow’s infringement is so extensive that the damage could potentially reach $1 billion. The suit follows an ongoing Federal Trade Commission investigation into Zillow’s deal with competitor Redfin and a separate lawsuit filed by brokerage firm Compass. If CoStar’s allegations are true, this case would be an extraordinary example of how fragile IP protections can be even in the United States — the U.S. has the strongest intellectual property (IP) protections of any country according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. And if this is a possibility under America’s relatively robust legal regime, the dangers are exponentially greater in other countries with weaker enforcement. Intellectual property theft already costs Americans between $225 billion and $600 billion per year. While much of that figure stems from foreign theft, particularly from China, domestic disputes like CoStar’s battle with Zillow demonstrates that the problem goes well beyond international violators. According to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPRCC), intellectual property theft is on the rise – up 21% over the last year. When those practices become normalized, it doesn’t just harm the creator; it threatens the foundation of an innovation-driven economy. This problem has been made worse by the mixed signals coming from Washington in recent years. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) was blunt in a February 2025…

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Filed under: News - @ July 31, 2025 9:29 pm