As we publish online, we increase our risk level. Taking extra precautions to make sure you are in compliance is key to managing your liability. 

Being aware of copyright law in really important!

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf

United States Copyright Office

If you a a blogger, use this tool to check to make sure others are not using your words! I am shocked to find that some people have stolen my blogs without my permission, without paying me, and without EVEN crediting me for my work! Unbelievable! I always welcome people posting links to my blogs, but beyond that………no way! 

http://www.dustball.com/cs/plagiarism.checker/ orhttp://www.plagiarismchecker.com/

If you want to protect your images from being stolen, here are some watermark tools. 

http://www.plumamazing.com/mac/iwatermark

http://www.winwatermark.com/

Some websites that offer some free images include the following:
§ http://www.sxc.hu/
§ http://www.burningwell.org/
§ http://unprofound.com/
§ http://www.microshots.org/
§ http://www.photorack.net/
§ http://photogen.com/
§ http://dreamstime.com// (some are free)
§ http://freeimagefiles.com/browse/1
§ http://www.sueblimely.com/best-sites…-stock-images/
§ http://www.creativecommons.org

Royalty free music sites. You can buy the right to use music online. Perhaps you want some shwanky music for your virtual tours. 
http://www.musicbakery.com/ andhttp://www.istockaudio.com/. There are also some pieces of music available through http://www.creativecommons.org/.

Click here to download the 7 Tips for Avoiding E&O Coverage Issues handout.

Fair Housing Issues Online

Virtual Field Trip

To Spam or NOT to Spam……….that is not the only question! Agents and Brokers, if you are soliciting business through email campaigns, be aware of the requirements for email marketing.

The FTC has created a brochure titled “The CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Businesses.” Pretty handy. 
http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bu…guide-business

http://www.realtor.org/field-guides/…ng-spam-e-mail

http://onguardonline.gov/

Click here to access the Email Business Etiquette Checklist handout.


NAR Code of Ethics and Standard Practice. Our code of ethics does apply to online advertising.
http://www.realtor.org/mempolweb.nsf/pages/code

http://www.realtor.org/field-guides/…ict-resolution

Every Agent and Broker should have an online Privacy Policy if they are collecting consumer or site visitor data. This is my Privacy Policy. It is a boiler plate privacy policy provided by my website host. http://www.landlinerealestate.com/PrivacyPolicy.aspx After reading about privacy policies, I will look it over and see if I need to add anything. Not sure at this point. Seems pretty normal to me, but I like the idea of having the below sites to reference. 
To learn more about privacy policies, click on the links below.
Federal Trade Commission: http://ftc.gov/
Better Business Bureau: http://www.bbb.org/
Direct Marketing Association: http://www.the-dma.org/index.php
Better Business Bureau – Create an Online Privacy Policy: http://www.bbbonline.org/understandi…eatepolicy.asp

Here is a website that allows you to create a free privacy policy and includes if you want your privacy policy to comply with Google Advertising. www.Freeprivacypolicy.com 

Social Media needs special care in terms of risk management. Social Media Guidelines for REALTOR® Association Staff Members.

Click here to access the Website Best Practices checklist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typosquatting

I really have not been able to determine if Typosquating is genius, or against the rules. Any ideas? 

Click on the link below to read Letter of the Law, which describes REALTOR® term use guidelines.

Are you not really sure how you can use the word Realtor or the Realtor mark?
http://www.realtor.org/letterlw.nsf/pages/mmmparttwo

I think this is a pretty useful list of links to help you grow your online presence while minimizing your risk.