August 6, 2018
The REALTOR® collective membership marks are each registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. These include:
• REALTOR®
• REALTORS®
• REALTOR-ASSOCIATE®
Two common scenarios in which questions about usage have been raised are e-mail addresses and the Block R logo.
E-mail Addresses
Members may use their name with the term REALTOR® in domain names and email addresses, but the marks must ALWAYS be used in a context which identifies the individual as a member.
JohnSmithRealtor@aol.com , JohnSmithRealtor.com or Realtor@JohnSmith.com are all acceptable formats.
Article V, Section 7 of NAR’s Bylaws states in relevant part, “…use of descriptive words or phrases in connection with term REALTOR®, REALTORS®, or REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® is expressly prohibited.” Numbers and locations are included in the list of descriptive words.
The Block R Logo
In accordance with the Membership Marks Manual, trademark administrator Mary Newill stated, “The Block R should not be used as a letter or part of a word.”
The following examples are improper uses because they use the block “R” or the Futura “R” as part of a company or individual name, or as the first letter of any words beginning with “R,” particularly words like “Real Estate,” “Realty,” or “REALTOR®”:
The set of rules governing the use of these marks was created to preserve and protect their value for all NAR members. NAR’s Legal Affairs group is responsible for reinforcing correct utilization of the marks.
View the Membership Marks Manual and more specific uses of the marks