Will the real MLS please stand up ...

A settlement agreement has been announced in a lawsuit against Regional Multiple Listing Service of St. Paul, Minn., that challenged restrictions on the use of the terms "MLS" and "multiple listing service." Though a settlement was reached (see Inman News article), there are still some bad feelings about the rule.

Steve Westmark, a Realtor who brought the lawsuit along with two other companies, says the settlement isn't everything he had hoped for. He still questions whether it was necessary to pass a rule that prevents RMLS members (with the exception of a few grandfathered companies) from using the term "MLS" in company names and Web site addresses -- even though third-party companies that are not members of the MLS can use the term as they wish.

RMLS officials, meanwhile, say the rule thwarts member companies and agents from passing themselves off as the MLS or telling consumers that they will be able to "search the MLS" at their Web sites.

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