{"id":1619,"slug":"caveats-mls-data-inside-the-box-untested-clauses-and-self-reported-metrics","title":"Caveats: MLS-data inside-the-box brief (June 2026) — untested clauses, self-reported metrics, contested copyright status","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["editorial-discipline","real-estate-mls","mls-data-licensing"],"reference_body":"**Highest-stakes caveats — counsel required before reliance:**\n\n- [[fca-2017-mls-compilation-lacks-originality-obiter]] + [[ims-v-trreb-2023-fca-70-copyright-revived]] — **copyright status is NOT settled**. The 2017 FCA originality finding was *obiter*; 2023 FCA 70 revived the question. Do not assume MLS data is copyright-free.\n- [[proptx-aua-s7c-no-decompile-analyze-derivative-works]] — the \"analyze\" word in s.7(c) is broad and untested in this context. An analytics/market-intelligence product could plausibly be argued to breach it. The exact current signed AUA/DLA text must be reviewed.\n- [[opc-2009-002-sold-price-address-personal-mls-not-publicly-available]] — when MLS-sourced sold data becomes lawfully usable (and whether aggregation/de-identification is sufficient) is fact-specific and not bright-line. The [[opc-2009-004-aggregation-publicly-available-de-identified-analogy]] DE-ID analogy is DS — counsel review essential.\n- [[trreb-v-restats-redatum-2021-fc-30-denied-injunction]] — agent-permissioned redistribution survived an *injunction* only; no court has ruled it lawful. [[ojohome-v-crea-trreb-2025-feed-terminated]] confirms boards actively terminate feeds they deem non-compliant.\n- [[treb-case-vow-publication-not-fully-public-mandate]] — the 2018 outcome opened VOW (password-protected) publication; it did NOT authorise unrestricted public republication.\n\n**Self-reported / inconsistent metrics — do not cite as fact:**\n\n- [[housesigma-self-reported-2m-users-5m-visits-inconsistent]] — HouseSigma user / visit figures are self-reported marketing, internally inconsistent across pages.\n- [[proptx-innovations-trreb-for-profit-subsidiary-realm]] — \"largest real estate board in the world\" is TRREB self-marketing; verify independently.\n- [[ontario-mls-data-divide-proptx-vs-itso]] — comparative-quality framings rest on anonymous practitioner comments (DS). Structural divide is real; the value-judgment is sentiment.\n\n**Industry-reported, not primary:**\n\n- [[reso-rets-deprecated-june-2018-dd-2-0-ratification-timeline]] — the NAR \"DD 2.0 within one year\" mandate is WAV Group / industry-reported, not confirmed on a RESO/NAR primary page.\n- [[reso-dd-2-1-draft-44-resources-2167-fields-q1-2026]] — DD 2.1 end-of-Q1-2026 timing is a forward-looking RESO statement, not a ratified release.\n\n**Cross-border nuance:**\n\n- Several VOW/IDX rule documents quoted ([[member-may-use-mls-cma-broker-selected-comps-permitted]], [[idx-control-test-aggregator-fails]], [[seller-opt-outs-vow-forces-idx-aggregator]]) are US (CVR MLS, Realcomp, CAR, NAR model rules). They illuminate the principles. **Ontario operative rules are CREA + PropTx/ITSO board rules.** Use Canadian primaries (PropTx Rules PDF, CREA REALTOR® Code, CREA Rule 11) as controlling, not the US analogues.\n\n**Sister-brief caveat umbrellas (shared discipline):**\n\n- [[caveats-information-asymmetry-decision-edge-vendor-recycled-and-modeled-projections]] — vendor-recycled magnitudes + modeled projections caveat list.\n- [[caveats-data-driven-tools-vendor-self-reported-and-large-enterprise]] — vendor-self-reported and large-enterprise extrapolation caveat list.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"caveats-data-driven-tools-vendor-self-reported-and-large-enterprise","title":"Caveats for the data-driven-tools brief: vendor self-reporting on conversion; enterprise-scale benchmarks; named-user quotes; macro projections","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"caveats-information-asymmetry-decision-edge-vendor-recycled-and-modeled-projections","title":"Caveats: information-asymmetry decision-edge brief (June 2026) — vendor-recycled magnitudes + modeled projections","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"research-brief-mls-data-inside-the-box-ontario-june-2026","title":"Research notes (capture-layer): inside the MLS box — what an Ontario member agent's account exposes, what goes unused, and what they're licensed to do with it (June 2026)","kind":"research-notes","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"reso-dd-2-1-draft-44-resources-2167-fields-q1-2026","title":"RESO DD 2.1 — draft (44 resources / 2,167 fields / 4,140 lookups), targeted end of Q1 2026, not yet ratified","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"reso-rets-deprecated-june-2018-dd-2-0-ratification-timeline","title":"RESO RETS deprecated June 2018; DD 2.0 ratified Oct 23 2023, effective April 15 2024; NAR-affiliated MLS one-year certification (industry-reported ~April 2025)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"proptx-innovations-trreb-for-profit-subsidiary-realm","title":"PropTx Innovations Inc. — TRREB's wholly-owned for-profit/taxable MLS subsidiary; REALM front-end merges land-registry and MLS data; ~70,000 members","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"ontario-mls-data-divide-proptx-vs-itso","title":"Ontario MLS data divide — PropTx (TRREB-led) vs ITSO holdouts; Cornerstone (Waterloo Region) on ITSO with Cotality; single-membership agents must search multiple boards; client-facing duplicate listings + double-counted stats","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"housesigma-self-reported-2m-users-5m-visits-inconsistent","title":"HouseSigma — self-reported \"2M+ registered users / 5M+ monthly visits\" + \"1.9M Active Users / $500M+ Yearly $ Volume\"; internally inconsistent across pages — flag","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"proptx-aua-s7c-no-decompile-analyze-derivative-works","title":"PropTx AUA s.7(c) — express prohibition: no decompile / reverse-engineer / disable / modify / **analyze** / create derivative works of software, MLS Database, BRS Database; s.4 ties to REBBA/TRESA","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"treb-case-vow-publication-not-fully-public-mandate","title":"TREB case dealt with VOW (password-protected) publication — did NOT mandate fully public, non-password-protected publication","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"fca-2017-mls-compilation-lacks-originality-obiter","title":"FCA 2017 (2017 FCA 236) — in *obiter*, endorsed Tribunal's conclusion that the TREB MLS compilation lacked the originality (skill/judgment/labour) for copyright; TREB \"had not put forward persuasive evidence\"","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"trreb-v-restats-redatum-2021-fc-30-denied-injunction","title":"TRREB v. RE Stats Inc. (Redatum) 2021 FC 30 — Federal Court denied TRREB's interlocutory injunction; data \"comes from its clients, which are TRREB members\"; copyright question left for trial","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"ims-v-trreb-2023-fca-70-copyright-revived","title":"IMS v. TRREB (2023 FCA 70) — FCA allowed TRREB's copyright claims to proceed; prior 2017 obiter did NOT finally decide originality of *this* (different/updated) MLS work; **copyright is live again, not settled**","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"ojohome-v-crea-trreb-2025-feed-terminated","title":"Ojohome Canada Ltd. v. CREA / TRREB (2025, Ont. Sup. Ct.) — TRREB terminated IDX access Oct 2024; CREA restricted DDF Dec 2024; site cut from ~54,000 to ~11,500 listings; injunction to restore access denied","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"opc-2009-002-sold-price-address-personal-mls-not-publicly-available","title":"OPC Case Summary #2009-002 — sold price + address is personal information; pulling from MLS does NOT qualify for \"publicly available\" consent exemption (decisive against MLS-sourced republication)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"opc-2009-004-aggregation-publicly-available-de-identified-analogy","title":"OPC PIPEDA Case #2009-004 — combining *publicly available* directory info with geo-demographic stats did NOT create new personal info requiring consent; **by analogy, sufficiently aggregated/de-identified MLS market stats likely fall outside PIPEDA consent (DS for the threshold)**","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-mls-data-inside-the-box-ontario-june-2026","title":"Research notes (capture-layer): inside the MLS box — what an Ontario member agent's account exposes, what goes unused, and what they're licensed to do with it (June 2026)","kind":"research-notes","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-21T10:51:32.850Z","updated_at":"2026-06-21T10:51:32.850Z"}