A real estate photographer is suing two major brokerages, claiming agents used his listing photos without permission or payment.
Real estate broker and professional photographer Alexander Stross has filed two lawsuits against Compass Inc. and Side Inc., two firms in Austin, Texas.
According to a complaint cited in a report by Housing Wire, “Stross is a well-regarded architectural photographer who has worked with some of the biggest names in Central Texas real estate.”
Stross’ photos have been published in Luxury Home Magazine and New Home Guide among other publications, and he regularly licenses his photographs to real estate agents and brokers for use in their marketing.
According to his lawsuits, Stross owns eight original photographs, which he claims were registered with the U.S. Copyright Office in February 2012.
He claims that agents affiliated with Compass and Side accessed these images through his website or social media and used them “verbatim” in marketing photos for property listings.
In the lawsuits filed last month in U.S. District Court in Austin, Stross claims that these agents had no license or permission to use his images but did so anyway to promote real estate sales.
Stross argues that each alleged instance of copyright infringement caused financial harm, with damages to be determined at trial.
“Furthermore, Defendants have obtained profits they would not otherwise have realized but for their infringement of the Subject Photographs, which entitles Stross to disgorgement of Defendants’ profits attributable to the infringement of the Subject Photographs in an amount to be established at trial,” Stross alleges in his complaint against Compass, according to Housing Wire.
In both suits, Stross is demanding a jury trial, asking the court to be “awarded all profits of Defendants, and each of them, plus all Stross’ losses, the exact sum to be proven at the time of trial,” and attorneys fees.
As Fstoppers notes in its report on the lawsuit, photography in real estate listings often exist in a legal “gray area.” When properties are relisted or switch agents, listing photos frequently get reused — sometimes without explicit permission from the photographer.
Real estate photographers usually grant usage rights to a specific agent or for a limited period, meaning any use beyond that could infringe on copyright laws. From Stross’ perspective, this alleged use isn’t just an occasional oversight; it reflects a broader trend of real estate professionals undervaluing photographers’ rights and contributions.
Last year, a real estate photographer sued prominent Instagram account “Zillow Gone Wild” for allegedly using her property pictures without consent — with her lawyer claiming that the company is based on “copying the work of others.”
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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