CoStar Sues Zillow for Massive Copyright Infringement, Seeks Over $1 Billion in Damages

CoStar Group has filed a lawsuit against Zillow for copyright infringement, alleging that Zillow has used over 46,000 of CoStar's copyrighted photographs on its platform and partner sites without permission. The infringement could result in over a billion dollars in damages. CoStar's CEO has threatened further legal action if the images are not removed from Zillow's partner sites. The case is one of the largest image infringement issues in recent history.

CoStar Group Inc. (CSGP.O) has filed a lawsuit against Zillow (ZG.O) in Manhattan federal court, alleging that Zillow has used over 46,979 of CoStar's copyrighted real estate photographs without permission. The lawsuit, filed on July 30, 2025, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, which CoStar estimates could exceed $1 billion [1].

According to the complaint, Zillow has been exploiting CoStar's photos, many of which contain watermarks, to boost its rental listings business. CoStar's real estate listing websites, which include Apartments.com and LoopNet.com, averaged 104 million monthly unique visitors during the first quarter of 2025. Zillow, the nation's largest real estate website, reported 227 million average monthly users during the same period [2].

CoStar Group CEO Andy Florance stated, "Zillow's theft of tens of thousands of CoStar Group's copyrighted photographs is nothing short of outrageous. Zillow is profiting from decades of CoStar Group work and the billions of dollars we have invested." Zillow did not immediately respond to requests for comment [1].

The lawsuit alleges that Zillow uses CoStar's photos to induce property managers and landlords to "claim" properties that are not actively listed for rent, and then sells advertising packages and tools to generate revenue. Additionally, CoStar claims that Zillow distributes some photos under syndication agreements to rival portals Realtor.com and Redfin [1].

CoStar has previously won a major judgment in a federal copyright case. In 2019, the company won a $500 million judgment against the now-defunct real estate listing platform Xceligent after federal regulators found the company had more than 38,489 copyrighted images from CoStar in its systems. The bankrupt company later agreed to pay CoStar about $10.8 million [1].

CoStar has threatened to sue Realtor.com and Redfin if they do not remove its copyrighted photos. The case is CoStar Group Inc et al v Zillow Group Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 25-06248 [1].

References:
[1] Reuters. (2025, July 30). Zillow sued by Homes.com owner CoStar over massive copyright violations. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/zillow-sued-by-homescom-owner-costar-massive-copyright-violations-2025-07-30/
[2] Newsday. (2025, July 31). CoStar Group sues Zillow over 47,000 copyrighted photos. Retrieved from https://www.newsday.com/business/costar-zillow-long-island-it8q77ij