Who owns listing photos? Copyright, reuse and downloading from Zillow

The short answer: whoever pressed the shutter

US copyright needs no paperwork. The Copyright Office says protection "exists automatically from the moment the original work of authorship is fixed," and that the copyright "initially belongs to the author(s) who created that work." Photographs are named in the law's definition of protected pictorial works. CRMLS, the California Regional MLS, says it plainly to its agents: "The individual that takes the photograph is the copyright owner."

Paying for the photos doesn't change that. The Copyright Office says owning a copy of a work does not give you "the ownership of the copyright in the work." There are two ways the copyright starts with someone other than the photographer, and two ways it can move later:

• An employee's photo. A photo taken by an employee within the scope of their job is a work made for hire, and the employer is the author. For example, a photographer on a brokerage's payroll shooting its listings.
• A commissioned photo, in narrow cases. A commissioned work is made for hire only if it falls into one of nine categories (such as a contribution to a collective work or a compilation) and both parties sign a written agreement saying so. Photographs are not one of the nine categories by name, and the Copyright Office says a work that fails these requirements "is not a work made for hire."
• A written transfer. Copyright can be sold or assigned, but the transfer "generally must be made in writing and signed by the owner."
• A license. A photographer can let you use the photos without giving up the copyright. A non-exclusive license doesn't legally need to be in writing, but MLS rules usually require written permission anyway (below).

What paying the photographer actually buys

Usually a license to market the property. In VHT v. Zillow, the Ninth Circuit described the licenses of VHT, which it called the largest professional real estate photography studio in the country, this way: "each contract generally grants the requesting client the right to use the photos in the sale or marketing of the featured property." The photographer keeps the copyright and the right to license the same photos to someone else.

CRMLS tells agents to "Always get the PIA or your own lawyer-drafted form signed prior to ever using any professionally taken photographs." Whatever form you use, these are the questions worth settling in writing before the shoot:

• Who may use the photos: the agent, the brokerage, the seller, or all three.
• Where: the MLS, portals that receive the MLS feed, your website, print and social media.
• For how long: for the listing only, or also afterwards in your marketing and portfolio.
• The MLS license: permission for you to license the photos to the MLS, which every MLS asks for when you upload (below).
• If the home comes back: whether a later listing of the same home may use them. Many MLSs forbid this regardless (below).

What the MLS requires

Uploading a photo to the MLS licenses it to the MLS, so you need the right to do that first. NAR's model policy says that before submitting a listing, "the listing broker should own, or have the authority to license all listing content (e.g., photographs," and its model MLS rule says that by submitting content the participant "represents and warrants that he or she is fully authorized to license" it. NAR's magazine for MLS executives summed it up in 2016: "MLS participants can grant photo license to the MLS only if they own the photo or have obtained the rights to use it."

• Written permission. CRMLS: "The listing agent and broker must get written permission to use photographs taken by a photographer."
• No reuse of MLS photos. CRMLS's photo FAQ says "It is prohibited to reuse MLS photographs, even with the original owner's permission" (its rule 11.5(d)).
• The previous agent's permission. MetroTex, quoted in NAR's magazine in 2016: "We require that agents have the written permission of the previous listing participant."

Rules differ from MLS to MLS. Our MLS photo rules by MLS guide lists 22 of them, and AI real estate photo editing: what the MLS allows covers the separate rules for edited and staged photos.

Can you reuse a previous listing's photos?

No, in almost every case. Zillow's help center says: "photos provided by previous agents or homeowners cannot be used for future listings." Redfin says listing photos "are protected by copyright and cannot be distributed as they belong to the listing agent or photographer." And on CRMLS, reuse of MLS photos is prohibited even with the owner's permission.

Buying the house doesn't buy the photos either: the copyright stays with the photographer or whoever it was transferred to. If you want old photos for your own records, our guide to finding old listing photos explains where they still live; for a new listing, take new photos.

Can you download or save photos from Zillow?

Only by hand and for personal use. Zillow's Terms of Use (the version updated October 28, 2025) say "you may copy information from the Services without the aid of any automated processes and only as necessary for your personal use or Pro Use." The same terms forbid:

• Automated copying: "automated queries (including screen and database scraping, spiders, robots, crawlers…)", which covers downloader extensions and scripts that save a whole gallery at once.
• Republishing: making "underlying images of or information about real estate listings" accessible on or through any other website.

So saving a photo of a home you are thinking of buying, to compare it later, is personal use. Downloading a listing's gallery to put it on your own site, a flyer or another listing is not, and the photos still belong to their photographer whatever Zillow's terms say. To get a copy you may actually use, ask the listing agent, who can ask the photographer.

What happens when listing photos are used without permission

Copyright infringement can be expensive. A copyright owner who sues (for a US work they must first register it) can ask for statutory damages of $750 to $30,000 per work, up to $150,000 if the infringement was willful, or as little as $200 if it was innocent (17 U.S.C. 504(c)). Two cases show how this plays out with listing photos:

Both cases are about a portal, but the rule they apply is the same for an agent: a listing photo used outside the license is someone else's property.

Photos you own from the start

The simplest way around all of this is to own the photos. With October you capture the home yourself with the October app: it shows you where to stand in each room, keeps the phone level and takes the pictures, and an AI image model draws the finished photos from your capture, with an AI walkthrough video, usually within a few hours. October's terms say "You own your captures and the photos and videos we deliver," and you can use them for marketing your space wherever you like. MLS rules on photos still apply to what you upload, as they do to any photo, including labeling AI-generated images where your MLS requires it.

A place of up to 6 rooms is $49 for photos, $99 with a walkthrough and $199 with a 4K walkthrough, and your first place is free. See pricing, and real estate photo size requirements for what each portal accepts.

As captured

Delivered by October

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