The crazy thing about this is that if Zillow had sent a nice email to the McMansion Hell author and buttered her up a little, maybe offered her some paid guest

The crazy thing about this is that if Zillow had sent a nice email to the McMansion Hell author and buttered her up a little, maybe offered her some paid guest blogging opportunities- They probably could have convinced her to stop using Zillow-sourced photos for a tiny fraction of what they paid their lawyers (not to mention the damaged brand capitol). I could imagine a different version of this where they sponsored an artist/illustrator so she doesn't have to use photos of real houses if that's what they were worried about. It would have been a great fit for their brand, a weekly "what to look for in your next house, sponsored by Zillow" feature or something. Instead they just stuck their finger in their eye for no reason.