I got an interesting email from a source within Move. They clarify a bit the roles of Move and NAR in regard to the original CIVIX lawsuit.

“In the settlement cited by Robert, CIVIX sued both Move and NAR for alleged patent infringement on Realtor.com. One of the benefits of the Realtor.com Operating Agreement is that Move is required to handle such matters on behalf of NAR. Move reached a settlement agreement with CIVIX and paid an undisclosed sum of money. This settlement, paid for by Move, covered Move, Realtor.com and NAR. NAR did not pay a penny of those settlement costs. However, the focus of that dispute was Realtor.com. When CIVIX later chose to sue MLSs (e.g., CIVIX-DDI vs. MRED and CIVIX-DDI vs. MRIS), it was for alleged infringements unrelated to Realtor.com and therefore the earlier settlement did not apply.”

This raises more than a few questions…