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fter a July 30 filing, CoStar said Zillow had removed most flagged photos but still displays 4,618 new CoStar‑owned images. The lawsuit, filed by the parent of Homes.com, accuses Zillow of using over 46,000 CoStar photos—mainly for multifamily rentals—without permission. CoStar described the case as possibly the biggest image‑infringement dispute ever. Two months later, a September 30 press release claimed Zillow continued to show thousands of copyrighted, water‑marked CoStar photos and share them with partners Redfin and Realtor.com. According to CoStar, of the nearly 47,000 water‑marked images identified in the July complaint, about 8,000 remain on Zillow’s platform. Additionally, Zillow has added 4,618 more CoStar images since the lawsuit. The photos, largely sourced from Apartments.com, were allegedly used on Zillow.com, Redfin, Realtor.com, and Zillow‑owned sites Trulia and HotPads, often with watermarks cropped out. Zillow announced earlier this month that it began removing many of the flagged images, a typical response in copyright cases. Gene Boxer, CoStar’s general counsel, stated, “Zillow used our water‑marked images, profited, and continued the practice. Instead of correcting the mistake, it expanded the infringement.” CoStar plans to pursue further legal action to hold Zillow accountable.
