Copyrighting a hot topic in Vegas

Tim Vining, the Washington state appraiser who won a $50,000 settlement from a client for copyright infringement, was cheered when introduced as the first appraiser to successfully defend his intellectual property rights at a panel discussion of appraisal advocacy issues at our second annual Winter Convention. His story riveted the hundreds gathered at lunch to hear about issues like copyrighting, false advertising of appraisal alternatives, AVMs and lender pressure.

Immediately prior to the panel attendees filled a seminar room where the whys and hows of copyright protection for appraisal reports were taught in a "bonus" seminar setting. And many of the hundreds who visited the exhibit hall booth for the Appraisal Advocacy Coalition were interested in finding out more about the issue of copyrighting.

Read an account of the copyrighting issue in the online edition of Working RE Magazine here.

As the idea catches on, we are improving the copyright tools in Aurora form filling software. Soon you'll be able to configure your report options to automatically include a copyright notice and the license agreement of your choice. You'll be able to select a footer instead of a watermark, and include a helpful FAQ page for your clients who aren't familiar with copyright protected appraisals. Watch this space for information about the changes, which are due to be completed shortly.