Copyright Theft & Positive Experience with SLAC

Hehe, already done it about a month ago Every object of mine in world is enumeratated, and if I see instances of my objects that are copyable being abused, wham, gottem with a custom IM message to the user giving them a reason for me doing that. Of course, I treat this as a last measure and would always contact the owner first

*watches as Trimda's sales plummet* You're supposed to keep it a secret like I did. You don't TELL them that your objects are bombed. You just do it.



Suuuuuuure.

Don't believe a word. I bought $8000 of stuff from Trimda's and she deleted it from my hands while I was carrying it out the store. I could hear her laughing maniacally from her cell.

LMAO, damn, thats what I got wrong! Damn, I got to keep secrets, just like you Kris Oh, I'm still posting that Mr. X article about you and V



Hehe, if it was you who got the $8000 of lights, well, then I woulda IM bombed ya till I it all back It was a noob who gottem, hehe, lucky bastard

The DMCA is evil. Sorry, had to say it, it just is...it's a law designed to allow anyone to use the legal system to bully and harass anyone else with an even remotely similar product.

But, that's sorta off topic...


To my knowledge, making a product that may be similar in look and usage as a competitor's product does not make it a copyright violation. Taking the competition's product, slapping one's own label on it, and selling it as one's own creation...now that's copyright infringement.

But on the other hand, a katana is a very-specific-looking object...would think that it'd be highly likely that two well-made katanas would probably appear extremely similar, maybe even alike.

But on the gripping hand, the japanese were the folks that invented katanas, so...can't see how anyone can claim copyright in SL to it. Any SL 'katana' at all would be considered an imitation of the copyrighted original.


- Newfie Pendragon

While there is some productive conversation in this thread, I just wanted to remind everyone the forums are not the proper place to air personal attacks against one another - please refrain from personally attacking someone you don't agree with in the forums. If you must discuss your personal grievances with another resident, please utilize the more appropriate methods, such as private messages on the forum or instant messages or chat inworld. Thanks.

Hiro I guess we chalk that one up to a win for creators.

However, some of us are less fortunate in that respect as we have been here since before the Permissions Migration meaning 1.0 to 1.2 change. 1.1 dont count as thats when we were rasing Hades about the muck ups but 1.2 was the final of it all.

Anyway a lot of creators lost a lot of content because of that.

To give you an example there are Dragon Shirts/Dragon Vests and multiple other Jackets I made Pre 1.0 that are now out there as Free to Copy because the Transition from 1.0 to 1.2 Killed the Creator Section on a lot of clothes and objects in peoples inventorys. Thus they either gave them away or started selling them on their own. In addition Im sure many of you have heard me Rave time and again about the yacht I made. But alas the era of a new permissions set is upon us and will be here in 4-5 months.

So for Now Hiro Im glad least you were able to Claim and get rewarded for your hard work that you put into the sword that still had you as the creator. However, it saddens me that in the near future you and all creators will be facing a possible nightmare when LL decides to switch to the new permissions system.

<<< Happy for Hiro but Sad for the past.

Shadow

Right, but - blade geometry, tsuba shape / design, menuki design, geometry of prim wrappings and kashira, textures, etc etc etc are all things that can be varied.

No.

I know of at least a half dozen people who have made katanas in SL. In no case are they similar enough for there to be *any* confusion as to who made which one.

Two dozen people can paint the same bowl of fruit, and you still have two dozen different distinct paintings.



Wrong.

A "katana" as such isnt copywritten, anymore than a cardboard box, the concept of music, or a spoon is. Specific designs of said things could be trademarked, copyrighted, or patented, but the concept is not protected.

What Hiro has a copyright on is his artistic representation of a katana. The same as, oh, an artist has on his painting of a bowl of fruit. Yes, anyone else can make a katana. They can even try to make one very similar. What they can *not* do is (basicly) stick his 'painting of a bowl of fruit' in a copy machine, make 10,000 copies, and start selling them. Which was what happened here.

Thanks Hiro for the very kind words.

I just wanted to say that I will not tolerate any kind of ripping off of another's work in SL.

We all have to do things because of copyright law and SL terms of service. I believe we also have a responsibility beyond that. I'm really saddened that some people think that because they can cheat the the game or the legal system that it's OK.

If you can make a prim for prim copy of something, then you should understand the work that originally went into it. You should be ashamed of yourself for trying to copy it exactly. Why don't you try and make a better version that you can be proud of? The play money in the game can't possibly be worth it to you? Why are you wasting your time and disrespecting the original artist?

I think most SL players are genuinely proud of what they make - even if they end up at a simillar place because the goals were simillar. We are each trying to make our own unique contribution. Only if we all support original work like Hiro's is SL going to grow and attract the creative people who make the toys we want to play with!

Hey Hiro I think you started a fad with "positive experiences"

ex- "Positive Linden experience with Sim going down" thread

I only wish, Atmos!

Well, I tracked down the original person. Here's what happened:
I met this person the first day of my SL.
I made my katanas.
He kept bugging me for one.
He kept bugging me to give him a modable copy so he could script it again.
I made him promise not to distribute / sell / edit / etc.
He has sold to at least one person (creg) and possibly 2 others.
...
I confronted him, told him I had not posted his name and was giving him 24 hours to apologize on the forum.
I was fully prepared to write this off as a misunderstanding and forgive and forget.
...
Taylor Phaeton, the boy in question, has not done this. (I say boy because I suspect strongly that he is underage, from all my dealings with him.)

People I didn't know were IMing me asking what the terrorist thing was about. I laughed it off, and one of them who said (s)he was friends with Taylor indicated he was a "stoner" and likely didn't remember.

Taylor had posted signs in a Halloween open-build sim about how I was a terrorist. Moopf was kind enough to clean this up and ban him from the sim, then informed me that this had happened. I would have written him off and said "whatever" if he failed to apologize. The fact that he has slandered me and gone out of his way to show me as some sort of villain seems to me as proof that this indeed was not an accident, and instead an intentional act. He has been the only person in this whole incident who has not been kind and professional.
Normally I don't out people on the forum, but considering the heinous nature of what Taylor has done, and the clear thought that this was intentional, I feel it fair to warn you folks who read this thread. (People interested in copyright protection.) Please take extreme caution if you deal with Taylor. To me he has broken promises, been irresponsible with creative content, and been vindictive and vengeful when confronted in private.

I will be filing an abuse report against Taylor for violating copyright for his own profit and also for harassment in the public sim.

It's sad. Taylor, if you are reading this, please understand that at some point in your life, you're going to have to grow up.

I'm confused here. Did LL do anything, other than agree that it was an exact copy?



Permission bits are just DRM (Digital Rights Management) flags. Just because something is not protected by DRM, does not mean that it is not protected by copyright.

LL oversaw - but because people were so cooperative they really just oversaw.

it wasn't just permission bits, it was also that he expressly promised not to distribute

and even if it was just permission bits, the rules at that mall specifically stated (and I can post it here if you really want) that you can't sell things you didn't make.