Network Communications Inc. (The Real Estate Book) won a Final Judgment And Permanent Injunction On Consent against 1RoofTechnologies, Inc., an affiliate and possibly a subsidiary of Primedia.

According to the complaint, plaintiff Network Communications brought a breach of contract civil suit against 1 RoofTechnologies for providing The Real Estate Book listings given by its agent advertisers to Primedia subsidiaries HPC Interactive and Realestate.com. Somewhere along the way, the Real Estate Book's copyright as well as the listing agents' contact information were stripped away and HPC Interactive's copyright put instead, according to screen shots supplied to Realty Times. The listings were then given to LendingTree, a company which charges up to 35 percent referral fees for closed leads.

The scheme was discovered, according to spokespersons earlier this year, when over 20 broker-customers of The Real Estate Book got calls from LendingTree salespersons offering to sell back leads from the brokers' listings. When The Real Estate Book learned what had happened -- that their listings were being directed to a referral fee service -- Ray Peabody, director of products for The Real Estate Book and Glenn Goad, senior vice president of Internet business with Network Communications took immediate action to halt the listing feed.

According to the Consent Injunction, what happened is that 1RoofTechnologies was a content licensor for Lycos and no stranger to The Real Estate Book. The Real Estate Book did have an agreement with 1RoofTechnologies to license its advertisers' listings in order to put them on Lycos.

But the contract didn't extend to other third-parties.

Without obtaining permission from The Real Estate Book, 1RoofTechnologies gave the listings to Primedia subsidiary HPC Interactive for distribution to Realestate.com and its partners, including LendingTree.

Editor's note: According to a statement sent by Robert Turnbull to Realty Times on February 28th, 2003, 1RoofTechnologies was purchased by Primedia on February 1, 2002. On March 25, 2003, Turnbull wrote Realty Times that Primedia does not own 1Roof, but that Primedia subsidiary HPC Interactive "owns 1Roof stock," and "is not a majority holder."

According to screen shots supplied to Realty Times, HPC Interactive stripped off The Real Estate Book's copyright as well as the listing agent's contact information. By the time, the listings appeared on LendingTree, the listings bore HPC Interactive's copyright and were used as pure lead generators for LendingTree's agent network -- not The Real Estate Book's.

What is significant about the suit is that it is every tech-phobic agent's nightmare-come-true, that if they put their listings on the Internet, something bad can happen to them.

The suit also justifies arguments by many brokers including Cendant real estate division and RE/MAX International officers that listing brokers should have the right to control where their listings are published -- even on other broker's websites, because of incidents like this one.

The bewildering part is that LendingTree is a licensed real estate broker. Did the company knowingly receive "stolen goods" in order to build its own business? Spokespersons told Realty Times last year, that LendingTree knew the listings were coming from HPC Interactive, but denied that the listings were used to solicit brokers, despite testimony from brokers that the company did indeed solicit them.

As this story broke, neither Network Communications or LendingTree agreed to discuss the case.

But many questions remain unanswered. Who authorized HPC Interactive to remove the copyright and listing information from another company's listings, and does that person(s) still have a job at the company? Who really owns 1Roof Technologies? Was that question answered in the depositions?

And finally, did LendingTree know where the listings really came from?

Remember that it was LendingTree salespersons who contacted Real Estate Book broker-advertisers to invite them to join the network and collect their leads from their own listings.

LendingTree told Realty Times earlier this year that the listings came from HPC Interactive. HPC Interactive stripped identifying data from the listings before giving them to LendingTree.

Then how did LendingTree salespersons get the broker's contact information?

That question may never be answered.

The suit was settled for an unspecified amount under nondisclosure. It is not clear is who is paying the settlement, 1RoofTechnologies or its affiliate, HPC Interactive/Realestate.com/Primedia.

It is also not clear whether or not there will be further actions taken by Network Communications and The Real Estate Book against other companies such as LendingTree which were involved or benefited from the listing scrapings scheme.

Published: November 24, 2003

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.