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RealMassive has reached a settlement agreement with CoStar Realty Information over a copyright infringement suit dating back to May 2015.
Austin-based RealMassive is a startup challenging CoStar’s dominance in the commercial real estate research business. RealMassive’s product is an online marketplace that allows users to share data about commercial real estate. RealMassive raised $8M of Series A funding in May.
The company was accused of deliberately adding CoStar's photos to its database. RealMassive says it went through great trouble and expense to ensure CoStar’s photos were not acquired, but a few images slipped through the cracks.
CoStar filed suit against RealMassive on the basis that RealMassive had benefited from the photos. RealMassive denied the allegation but has agreed to pay CoStar $1M, much less than the cost of defending a lawsuit. RealMassive CEO Craig Hancock said in a blog post that CoStar’s lawsuit was an attempt to throw up roadblocks to innovation and competition.
CoStar still has a pending lawsuit alleging similar damages against California-based Apartment Hunters, claiming it repurposed images of multifamily properties published on CoStar-owned Apartments.com.
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