HOLIDAY: HIS Office Closed on Sept. 5

The Hawaii Information Service office will be closed on Monday, September 5, 2016 in observance of Labor Day. We wish you you a safe and restful long holiday weekend!

In case of emergency, you can reach us over the long weekend and any time outside regular business hours by leaving a message on our emergency line. Just call (808) 599-4224 or (800) 628-3121 from the neighbor islands, and press * (star). Our phone system will notify our on-call staff, and someone will return your call as soon as possible.

Normal office hours will resume on Tuesday, September 6. The next observed holiday will be Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov. 24.

Labor Day, established as a federal holiday in 1894, celebrates the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the country. It also marks the unofficial end of summer. Photo by Pete Toscano.

SLAA Program Reminder

Just a reminder that starting September 1, 2016, you will see a Subscriber License and Access Agreement (SLAA) acceptance window when you login that will ask you to accept or not accept the SLAA.  Details about the program were provided in a notice sent to all MLS subscribers on August 15, 2016, as well as a follow-up notice.

If you need more time to review the SLAA, there will be a selection available that will allow you to postpone your selection until September 15, 2016.  However, you will be presented with the acceptance page each time you login until you make a selection.  If you choose notto accept the SLAA, your service will terminate on September 16, 2016.  If you do not make a selection by September 15, 2016, HIS shall assume that you accept the SLAA, even in the event that you do not login at all during the on-line acceptance program.

Principal Broker Subscribers (PBS) will be asked to make an additional selection in regards to the intellectual property rights for the content they and their affiliated subscribers contribute to the service.  There were recent revisions to the language in the agreement for these options that were shared with you in our August 20, 2016 bulletin.  If a PBS logs in during the on-line acceptance program, but does not make an Option selection, HIS shall assume that he/she selected Option I.  If a PBS does not log in at all during the on-line acceptance program, HIS shall assume that he/she selected Option II.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Diana Haraguchi, VP-Administration, by calling 1-800-628-3121 ext. 172 if calling from the neighbor islands, or 599-4224 ext. 172 if calling from Oahu. You may also send an email to Diana@HiInfo.com.

More Information on the SLAA Program

We received a few responses from members to our August 15, 2016 notice announcing the launch of the On-Line Subscriber Agreement Acceptance program.  They were interested in accessing a copy of the revised Subscriber License and Access Agreement (SLAA) that they could review before the launch of the program on September 1, 2016.  They were also interested in seeing the specific revisions to the agreement.

For those of you who wish to start reviewing the Subscriber License and Access Agreement (SLAA) before the launch of the program, you may access the SLAA by clicking on this link:  SLAA – v2015-07-28.

The current SLAA is always accessible on the REsearch Login screen under IMPORTANT RESOURCES.  Look for the link called “MLS Subscription License & Access Agreement“.

Revisions were made on Page 3 of the agreement.  They are shown in the red-lined excerpt from the SLAA below.  Note that only the Principal Broker Subscribers (PBS) make the selection of Option I or II, and his/her selection applies to all of his/her affiliated subscribers.

The revisions to section (c) below apply to Associate and Support Subscribers.  These were made to make their assignment and or license of their contributed content to HIS consistent with that of their respective PBS.  All subscribers must at least grant HIS a license for the use of their contributed content.

These revisions to the SLAA were necessary to be consistent with NAR revisions to their MLS Policy Statement 7.85.  We announced these revisions in a bulletin we sent out in May.

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6.  Intellectual property
If  Subscriber is a PBS, PBS Election regarding copyrights in Subscriber Contributions.  If Subscriber is a PBS, Subscriber must elect from the following options.  If no election is indicated, then Subscriber is deemed to have selected Option I.

OPTION I
(a) Assignment from Subscriber.  Subscriber hereby unconditionally assigns to HIS all right, title and interest, including all right, title and interest s under U.S. and international copyright law, in the Subscriber Contribution, including, without limitation, any copyrights therein under U.S. and international copyright law; Subscriber warrants that it has the authority to make this assignment. HIS agrees during the term of this Agreement not to license or distribute the Subscriber Contribution to any third party that is not a real estate brokerage or appraisal subscriber to the HIS Service if Subscriber has indicated in writing its desire to withhold the Subscriber Contribution from such third party. Subscriber acknowledges that once it has made the election agreeing to this section, all copyrights in all portions of the Subscriber Contribution, whether submitted prior to or after executing this Agreement, shall irrevocably vest in HIS.

(b) HIS Obligations. HIS hereby grants to Subscriber a non-exclusive, perpetual, world-wide, transferable, royalty-free, license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, distribute, display, perform and license (including sublicenses through multiple tiers) the Subscriber Contribution and those portions of the HIS Database relating to Participant’s listings. HIS shall secure the rights of Subscriber hereunder by obtaining assignments and licenses from Subscriber Affiliates and others as necessary; HIS shall make quarterly registrations of the copyrights in the HIS Database, including the Subscriber Contribution; HIS shall employ reasonable efforts to detect and hinder third parties using the Subscriber Contribution without Subscriber’s permission.

OPTION II
(a)    License from Subscriber. Subscriber hereby grants to HIS a non-exclusive, perpetual, world-wide, transferable, royalty-free license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, distribute, display, perform and license (including sublicenses through multiple tiers) the Subscriber Contribution. Subscriber warrants that it has the authority to grant this license. HIS agrees during the term of this Agreement not to license or distribute the Subscriber Contribution to any third party that is not a real estate brokerage or appraisal subscriber to the HIS Service if Subscriber has indicated in writing its desire to withhold the Subscriber Contribution from such third party.

(b)   HIS has no obligations to protect. Subscriber acknowledges that: (i) HIS makes no grant of license or assignment to Subscriber of any rights in the HIS Database except as set forth in Section 6(e); (ii) HIS will make no effort to register the copyrights in the Subscriber Contribution, and Subscriber will be responsible for all costs and efforts associated with registration; (iii) timely copyright registration is a prerequisite to suing a copyright infringer, and is necessary in order to obtain certain remedies available under the U.S. Copyright Act; (iv) HIS will employ no efforts whatsoever to detect or hinder third parties using the Subscriber Contribution without Subscriber’s permission; (v) HIS will make no effort to secure for Subscriber the right to use copyright works created by Subscriber Affiliates or third parties.

(c)    If Subscriber is an Associate Subscriber or Support Subscriber.  Depending on whether Subscriber’s PBS or PAS has selected Option I or Option II above, the following terms shall apply:

(i)   If Subscriber’s PBS or PAS has selected Option I, Subscriber hereby unconditionally assigns to Subscriber’s PBS or PASHIS all right, title and interest including all rights under U.S. and international copyright law, in the Subscriber Contribution.  To the extent that Subscriber Contribution has also purported to assign its interests in the Subscriber Contribution to Subscriber’s PBS or PAS, the assignment in this paragraph is null and void. To the extent that Subscriber does not possess the rights to permit the foregoing assignment, Subscriber hereby grants to HIS a non-exclusive, perpetual, world-wide, transferable, royalty-free license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, distribute, display, perform and license (including sublicenses through multiple tiers) the Subscriber Contribution. Subscriber may use the Subscriber Contribution only as necessary to achieve the aims of Subscriber’s PBS or PAS unless Subscriber’s PBS or PAS provides otherwise.

(ii)   If Subscriber’s PBS or PAS has selected Option II, Subscriber hereby grants to HIS a non-exclusive, perpetual, world-wide, royalty-free license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, distribute, display, perform and license (including sublicenses through multiple tiers) the Subscriber Contribution and those portions of the HIS Database relating to Subscriber’s listingsassigns to HIS all right, title and interest, including all rights under U.S. and international copyright law, in the Subscriber Contribution.  To the extent that Subscriber has also purported to assign its interests in the Subscriber Contribution to Subscriber’s PBS or PAS, the assignment in this paragraph is null and void.  HIS grants to Subscriber a non-exclusive, perpetual, world-wide, transferable, royalty-free license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, distribute, display, perform, and license (including licenses through multiple tiers) the Subscriber Contribution.

(d)   Warranties.  Subscriber warrants that it has the authority to make all assignments and licenses set out in this Agreement. Subscriber further warrants that (i) the Subscriber Contribution does not infringe on the copyright or other intellectual property rights of any third party; and (ii) Subscriber has the written consent of any party necessary to provide the Subscriber Contribution to HIS. If the Subscriber is a PBS or PAS, he/she has the authority to bind the PBS’s or PSA’s Subscriber Firm to the terms of this Agreement.

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Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Diana Haraguchi, VP-Administration, by calling 1-800-628-3121 ext. 172 if calling from the neighbor islands, or 599-4224 ext. 172 if calling from Oahu. You may also send an email to Diana@HiInfo.com.

Mahalo!

On-Line Subscriber Agreement Acceptance Program

On-Line Subscriber License and Access Agreement (SLAA) Program begins September 1, 2016.

Members will be prompted to accept the current agreement upon logging in.

Beginning September 1, 2016, when you log into REsearch, you will be asked to confirm your acceptance of the most current version of the Subscriber License and Access Agreement (SLAA). Acceptance of the SLAA assures your continued use of the system. Through this login process, our system will be able to gather the technical acceptance of all users to the agreement. Future changes to the SLAA will prompt similar notices on an ongoing basis.

For most users, there have been no substantive changes to the SLAA except for changes required as the result of the revisions by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) to its MLS Policy Statement 7.85 in regards to the authority of subscribers to license their listing content to the MLS.

Details about the SLAA On-line acceptance program

When you log into REsearch, a pop-up window will appear as shown below. You will be asked to check off one of the boxes indicating whether you accept the SLAA or not. If you would like more time to review the SLAA and would like to postpone making a selection, there will be a selection available that will allow you to make your selection later. However, the pop-up window will appear each time you log in, until you make a selection.

If you do not make a selection by September 15, 2016, even if you don’t log in to the system by this date, we will assume that you accept the SLAA.

If you indicate that you do not accept the SLAA, then we shall assume that you have no interest in continuing the use of the service and your access will be terminated at the end of day on September 15, 2016. However, if your PBS has accepted the SLAA, he/she will be notified of your selection to not accept the SLAA. You may not terminate your service unless you are inactivating or terminating your license or if you transfer to an office that does not subscribe to the MLS.

If you don’t make a selection by September 15, 2016:

In the event that a subscriber logs in and does not make a selection or does not log in at all during the SLAA on-line acceptance program period by September 15, 2016, HIS shall assume that the subscriber accepts the SLAA.

Principal Broker Subscribers receive a different notice.

Principal Broker Subscribers will see a different SLAA acceptance page when they log in. Theirs will require an additional selection regarding their contributed content to the service.

For additional information on this program, click here.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Diana Haraguchi, VP-Administration, by calling 1-800-628-3121 ext. 172 if calling from the neighbor islands, or 599-4224 ext. 172 if calling from Oahu. You may also send an email to Diana@HiInfo.com.

Mahalo!

HIS Featured App: Try Trello!

Manage Tasks & Teams Visually with Trello

Hawaii Information Service is committed to helping its members grow their business, and REsearch is only one of many great tools that help real estate professionals get things done. This is the first in a periodic series of features highlighting useful apps and tools for brokers and agents. Today’s featured app is Trello!

Ditch the sticky notes

If you organize your life with Post-it® Notes and whiteboards, or track tasks with scraps of paper pinned to a corkboard, you have to try Trello.

Trello is a simple organizing tool that’s especially great for teams and project management. It’s much more powerful than a steno pad “to-do” list, but far easier to use than typical project management software. And for people who think or brainstorm visually, it’s positively addictive.

Trello lets you set up boards, which contain lists, and each list entry is a card that can include as much or as little detail as you need. For example, you could have an “Open Houses” board, with a list for each property, which in turn would contain cards to schedule times for hosting agents.

Cards can have color-coded labels, deadlines, and checklists, and can hold photos, documents, and other attachments. Everything is searchable. And Trello is also built for collaboration, allowing colleagues to share their boards, lists, and cards to collaborate, comment, and complete tasks.

The sales and marketing team at HIS uses Trello to manage its many projects. Each team member has a board to track their work, with project-specific boards created as needed and customized for the work that needs to be done. Sales promotions, software sprints, even office potlucks can easily be planned, tracked, and managed with Trello.

Works on the web, on smartphones, and on tablets

Trello is available as both an iOS and Android app for smartphones and tablets, making it easy to review and update your boards while on the go. But we think Trello really shines on the web, where larger screens allow you to see everything at a glance. Moving a card from one list to another — perhaps from ‘to do’ to ‘in progress’ — is as simple as dragging it over.

Trello also works with email, allowing you to receive notifications and even add comments to cards through your email client.

A real estate office could set up multiple boards, from an open house scheduler to a listing tracker. Individual agents can have their own private boards, and other boards can be shared with specific people. The training team can plan classes and build the curriculum together. A photographer can plan photo shoots and work with checklists of required shots.

The possibilities are endless. And the price is right: free! If you fall in love with Trello, you can upgrade to Trello Gold, which gives you more storage space for attachments and fun goodies like customizable backgrounds and stickers. But at HIS, we’ve been able to get everything we need out of Trello without spending a penny.

Learn more:

Want more examples? Trello built sample Trello boards, one for a real estate team to track listings, and another for a brokerage to manage buying, renovating, and selling properties:

You can also check out these links for more tips from fellow real estate professionals:

• Technology Tip: Trello (Jennifer Snyder, Marketing Ideas for Agents)
• Video Tutorial: Trello for Realtors (Matthew Rathbun, The Agent Trainer)
• Create an Editorial Calendar for your Content Marketing (Seth Price, Inman)

Ready to dive in? Check out Trello’s “Getting Started with Trello” webinar, create your account at Trello.com, and download the app:

 

Bonus app: HIS MLS Search App

Have you tried our REsearch MLS Search app? It allows you to search all properties on the MLS for Kauai and Hawaii Island, use GPS to look for homes for sale near you, and save and share favorite properties. Created by Smarter Agent, it’s free!

Download for iPhone »
Download for iPad »
Download for Android »

And Smarter Agent can help you launch your own branded real estate search app. Equip your clients with an app that can help them find promising properties and directs leads to you!

Learn more here!

Got an app or tool that you love?

Did you already know about Trello? Have you got an even better app in your arsenal? Let us know! We’d love to share your story, and help your fellow real estate professionals get the most out of technology. Drop us a line today!

Improvements to Format Menu

We have made a few small changes to the drop-down menu to select display formats in REsearch.

Based on your helpful feedback, we placed the most popular formats at the top of the list. Now you’ll be able to quickly select the MLS, TMK, and Summary formats, rather than scrolling down the full list. We have also adjusted the height of the format list window to take advantage of the full height of your screen.

Here is the new ‘Format’ menu in REsearch:

For comparison, here is the previous layout:

We hope you’ll agree, this small change will help save time when selecting and changing formats! We always welcome and appreciate your feedback on ways to make REsearch better. Mahalo!