NAR tells members to report Realtor brand misuse

As part of its three year strategic plan, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) promised members the trade group would work to “elevate” the Realtor brand. For the first half of the year, NAR’s vision for exactly what this effort would look like remained a bit unclear but at the association’s legislative meeting in late-June, things started to come into focus.

At the meeting, NAR told members it was in the process of updating its Trademark Protection Program webpage and pointed members to its Brand Infringement Intake Form if they come across unauthorized uses of the Realtor brand. 

According to NAR, the goals of its Trademark Protection Program “are to preserve the federal trademark registration, create and increase the value of goodwill and maintain the original intended purpose and meaning of the marks.” 

In order to accomplish these goals NAR said misuses of the Realtor marks must be identified and corrected and, as part of the association’s bylaws, members are required to “cooperate and coordinate with NAR in any and all attempts to halt or prevent any unauthorized or improper use of the marks.” 

If a misuse is identified, the party misusing the mark must send NAR a written assurance of compliance with the trademark guidelines, if this is not obtained and/or the misuser continues to misuse the trademark, NAR says it may initiate legal action.

Additionally in its 2025 Annual Report, published in January 2026, NAR told members that it was “leveraging AI tools to strengthen brand protection, allowing NAR to identify trademark infringement earlier than ever before and take appropriate action.” 

All part of the plan

After the passage of its 2026-2028 Strategic Plan, NAR said it was aiming to position the Realtor brand “as a trusted symbol of expertise, integrity and reliable service,” in the eyes of the consumer.  Additionally, in its 2025 Annual Report, NAR told members that it had restructured its legal team to prioritize this mission to protect and promote the Realtor brand and trademarks and that the team designed a seven-stage brand protection strategy, which included things like a comprehensive review of NAR’s intellectual property portfolio and the development of a detailed roadmap for enforcement priorities. 

According to the report, in 2026, NAR said it would release a multipart trademark video series to educate members and staff of proper trademark usage as well as  a trademark toolkit for associations and members that includes turnkey social media assets promoting correct usage of the trademark. The association published these resources earlier this year.