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n a high-stakes dispute, renowned real estate photographer Alexander Stross is taking on two major brokerages in Austin, Texas. Compass Inc. and Side Inc. are being sued by Stross for allegedly using his copyrighted listing photos without permission or payment.

    Stross, a respected architectural photographer with credits in Luxury Home Magazine and New Home Guide, licenses his photographs to real estate agents and brokers for use in their marketing materials. However, he claims that agents affiliated with Compass and Side accessed his images through his website or social media and used them verbatim in property listings without obtaining the necessary permissions.

    According to Stross' lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court, each instance of alleged copyright infringement caused financial harm, and he is seeking damages to be determined at trial. He also alleges that the defendants profited from their unauthorized use of his images, entitling him to disgorgement of those profits.

    The case highlights a gray area in real estate photography law, where listing photos are often reused without explicit permission from the photographer. Stross argues that this trend reflects a broader disregard for photographers' rights and contributions. His lawsuit seeks not only damages but also a jury trial, attorneys fees, and reimbursement of all profits earned by the defendants.

    This is not an isolated incident; last year, another real estate photographer sued Instagram account "Zillow Gone Wild" for allegedly using her property pictures without consent, citing a culture of copying others' work.