{"id":1521,"slug":"crea-mls-realtor-trademarks-three-pillars","title":"CREA — owns MLS®/REALTOR®/Multiple Listing Service® registered trademarks; licences member boards; runs REALTOR.ca + DDF; sets national By-Laws, Rules, REALTOR® Code, Three Pillars of the MLS® Mark","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["real-estate-mls","mls-data-licensing"],"reference_body":"**Claim.** The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) owns MLS®, REALTOR®, and Multiple Listing Service® registered trademarks; licenses member boards to operate \"MLS® Systems\"; runs REALTOR.ca and DDF; sets national By-Laws, Rules, the REALTOR® Code, and the Three Pillars of the MLS® Mark. MLS® must be used only as an adjective (\"MLS® System\"), never as a noun/database synonym, never in business/domain names/meta-tags.\n\n**Source.** crea.ca, accessed 2026-06-21.\n\n**Confidence.** Verified.\n\n**Caveats.** Trademark rules are CREA-set and have evolved; the adjective-only rule is consistently enforced. Implied endorsement is a separate axis — a product cannot brand itself with or imply endorsement by the marks.\n\n**Implication / use.** Anchors [[rule-no-mls-realtor-trademarks-adjective-only]]. Any product positioning that uses MLS® as a noun (\"the MLS data\") in marketing is on shaky ground.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"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"}],"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"},{"slug":"rule-no-mls-realtor-trademarks-adjective-only","title":"Rule: do not use MLS® / REALTOR® / Multiple Listing Service® marks as nouns; adjective-only (\"MLS® System\"); never in business / domain / meta-tag","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"crea-ddf-2012-channels-consumer-grade","title":"CREA Data Distribution Facility (DDF®) — created 2012, opt-in via REALTOR Link®; multiple channels; feeds are consumer-grade (REALTOR.ca-level), NOT the deep layer","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-21T10:45:32.957Z","updated_at":"2026-06-21T10:45:32.957Z"}