Your SL Business Name is not Safe!!!!!

an unterrly useless and mindless comment like this says al it needs to about the poisiton of the poster. I take it I can safely discount your opinions.

But this is the trouble, the nature of SL as it is prevents and hampers members from going ofter other members due to privacy issues. If we retain the right to privacy and to hide behind mickey mouse names, then we cannot adequately protect our trademarks in court. Thus LL is in a better position to accomplish the twin goals of protecting privacy and protecting IP. If they are not going to take the route of protecting the residents, then they need to get out of the way of the residents who want to protect themselves.

Intellectual property is a fascinating are of law as it applies to second life. It is an are ripe for meaningful discussions about the nature of IP, the practicalities of enforcement, and questions about resident governance, software fixes, and the relative responsibvilites of residents and LL. It also touches on truth in advertising and the differences between what is represented and what is delivered.

This is a critical discussion for both SL and the virtual world, and it is seriously hampered by the snide mudslinging that goes on in the forums. It is also hampered by people going off half cocked, or wikipedia smart about IP rights in the first place. The worst offenders are the one who apply common sense to legal issues. If it were that simple noone would ever have a lawyer and pay them large amounts of money to give advise.

Copryright and trademark law, and of course patent law, are dsome o fthe most intircate areas of law in terms of mentaly gymnastics. Reading a wiki-pedia article or a self help book on business law is not the same thing at all as a legal education. We are very lucky to have an attorney like Katykiwi her ein second life, because she is one of us, and wants SL to be all it can be. this business abpout IP protection is one we can sort out ourselves, or it will be sorted out for us by some big corporation who takes us to court to enforce its IP.
Katykiwi has taken a lot of time to know and understand Copyright and trademark law, and how it applies, or might apply to SL. Instead of running her off the forums, maybe we could try listening to what she has to say, and putting in our own thoughts on the matter more respectfully.

You know Jake I think we would but this seems, to me and I know to at least a few others, of just another in a long line of "omg this person stole THIS from me and i'm outraged!"

I understand there's a lot of money to be made in SL and thats really cool. But to those of us not in it for the money, well shit we don't really care if there's two Gypsy Moon's or two Nomine's. I'd feel a little more respectful if she was weighing in for those getting their skins and clothing stolen by texture theives or their customers ripped off by griefers pretending to be in the employ of stores they are not.

But all she looks like right now, is just another person whining because 'someone ripped off her name." Really, besides her and her friends, who cares?

Nothing in Secondlife is safe.
So why should business names?
Search for one store.
You'll find atleast four others with the same or similar name.
Want to know why?
So that way, when you teleport to one without reading the name completely.
You're at the wrong place.
It's a fancy little trick they use to get more traffic to their area.

Responding to a number of comments from various people below...



In some cases, even if you were not technically infringing their actual trademark, you would be violating their rights in that you “passing off”your goods and services as their's and “diluting” their mark by using it in a way that an average consumer could be confused into thinking that your SL business was owned by Denny's, Coca-Cola, or Cuervo. However, as a practical matter most famous brands like the ones you have mentioned will have registered their trademarks in IC 042 for “online computer services” or something similar--that would cover use of the mark in SL.



No--she's not. Furthermore, ownership of a domain name and ownership of a trademark are NOT the same thing. You can easily own one without owning the other. While it is possible to gain possession of a domain name, that you have a registered trademark for, under ICAAN Uniform Dispute Resolution or under the US Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, it is not always a sure thing.



Amy needs to demand her money back. Other than some common law rights, you own nothing.

Her lawyers submitted an application on 25-Mar-2005, the USPTO responded with an office action refusing registration because there was a Likelihood of Confusion between the the proposed mark “Amy Brown FaeryWear by Gypsy Moon” and an existing mark “Faerie Wear” (No. 2775434), which was awarded for similar goods and services. There were also a few less other issues, including a need for more specific identification of the goods and services and a requirement that the “Amy Brown” portion of the proposed mark be supported by a statement from Amy Brown authorizing the use of her name.

The USPTO gives you six months to respond to an office action on a proposed mark. However, Amy Brown's lawyers did not, and on 22-May-2006, the USPTO mailed out a Notice of Abandonment, ending the application for non-response. The abandonment is a bit puzzling, as the USPTO's objections could have been addressed easily by changing the mark to something like “Gypsy Moon by Amy Brown”, submitting a statement from Amy Brown, and elaborating on the goods and services. It would have been a fairly simple to do.

As it stands, it's too late even for Amy Brown to file a petition to revive the application, as more than two months have passed since the date of the notice of abandonment.


As I said upthread, I think this would only end up giving SL businesses a false sense of security. Since a US federal registration would trump any in-game registry, a SL Business Name Registry would provide little real protection from outside game businesses using the same mar (or applying to). Though for the limited purposes of keeping two businesses--in the SL virtual space--from using the same mark, it would work, LL would need to be clear that such a registry would provide little protection from RL trademark holders.



Just a nit--the application for “Amy Brown FaeryWear by Gypsy Moon” was abandoned for failure to respond, not for failure to enforce. Generally the USPTO will not list a mark or application as “abandoned” because it has become generic. That's usually the determination of a court. “Abandoned” in the USPTO database usually means that a mark has not been renewed or an application has not been responded to.



Another two nitpicks. 1) The registration process can take far longer than 18 months--especially if you have to respond to numerous USPTO office actions, go before the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board, or someone raises objections when your mark is published for opposition. Eighteen months is closer to the minimum time to get a mark in my experience

2) Anyone can use the “TM” or “SM” symbols--whether they have applied for a registration or not. They simply indicate that you are claiming ownership of a mark. It's not analogous to use of a “Patent Pending” (which you may only use after filing at least a preliminary patent application).



True--but if someone else applies after you do, you have priority based on your application date, rather than the date the registration was granted. For example, should Amy Brown now reapply for a “Gypsy Moon” mark, your pending application (assuming it is a US federal registration application) would have priority, even if hers wound its way thought the registration process first.



No--the RL “Gypsy Moon” people are not in good shape here. Their best bet to keep any rights to the name (without going to court) would be to carefully watch the USPTO's publications for opposition, and file a formal opposition when katykiwi's mark is published. And the success of such an opposition would be far from a sure thing. I'm guessing--but do not know for sure--that Amy Brown's non-response and abandonment of her previous application would be held against her there.



The proposed mark for “Amy Brown FaeryWear by Gypsy Moon” has not expired because it was never awarded in the first place! And as I mentioned earlier, katykiwi's pending application now has priority over Amy Brown's abandoned application.

put it this way. this article is pointless unless the TOS of the software is modified. currently you own in game owner ship of the items you upload and make but Linden Labs reserves the right to all of it. In a blink of an Eye your precious account, business, code, prims, everything be deleted and or removed from you. Remember you don't exactly own anything that is in the game. If you get down to it, ust becasue you use a business to make the $ and then sell the virtual money for real money does not mean you have a "real" business. that is like saying a person that has a player in everquest, WOW, or any MMORPG that sells their godl for money has a business. All in all this is a game and is governed by your TOS and EULA very very limited laws other than that apply (example harrassment)