Whats the point in creating content when....

Hi there JR, I hope you've been able to put some of these suggestions from people to use. In a world like SL sometimes it's too easy for people who are not as creative as others, or just plain lazy or who-knows, to just steal from others. I've been through (and still going through) a copycat situation which is a little unusual. Me and a couple very good friends started a hockey league in SL years ago, after finding a nice rink at Spittonie Isle, but no league. In the years since, there have been THREE other leagues started using our ideas, even down to a replica of our unique SL-related rules and equipment. I have had times of extreme frustration over this, wondering what (if anything) we should do, but I imagine the theft of ideas without a specific object to focus on would be a pretty dang hard DMCA to file. When it's copies of sale objects which happens a lot in SL it might seem like a never-ending battle but should be pursued.

My thoughts would be:

--Focus on your status as the premier in whatever you do. You have the quality that brings back more. You also have the legitimacy in knowing that yours is the original, and the best, and smart people realize that. Word of mouth also helps.

--Keep up the innovations and improvements. Disregard what the others are doing and focus only on what your business or endeavor needs to continuously improve.

--DO file the legal complaints if someone has blatantly copied your object. It might be time consuming but if everyone chooses not to do it then it's basically permission for the jerks to keep it up. In situations like ours, I do not know that there's any legal recourse, but there are groups you can join inside SL that promote valid and honest businesses over the copybots and copycats.

--From a mental standpoint, it is an aggravating situation, but try to avoid letting it get you frustrated. I may be a little naive but I feel that most people recognize quality and originality and gravitate towards those over the others. Also joining forces with groups in SL gives you resources and support.

I'd say my main point is don't get discouraged. You obviously have a quality product and this makes an organization or business vunerable to being copied. Try to keep your focus on you, and your great product and what you can do to continue to protect yourself and at the same time continuously improve what you have to offer over the copycats.

I'll reinforce what Haravikk said.... win out with the 'added features' that can't be duplicated, scripting, support, service, upgrades.... make sure people know that they get all those things as well, when buying from you, instead of the ripoff artists.... it makes a difference.

i'd also reccomend invisible watermarking of textures, not to prevent theft, or even deter it, but rather, to use as proof of ownership when one of your theiving competitors gets big enough to to be worth the time of a DCMA takedown notice, or a copyright suit, giving you instant ammo, and a shot at recouping damages form the violator... especailly fun when the person spent a lot of effort to build up the stolen product as their own, only to have to turn all their income from it to you....

What anyone believes they "created," dozens maybe more have done so before. Unless you were the very first to make anything in sl and there's no way to verify it you're just copying something that's been done before. And who's to say they were the first to make any item? No one can, regardless how long you've been in sl. There's no copyright here, therefore no one can say anything. NO one has any proof they were the sole creator of anything. Nothing, zilch, zip, nada!

Whether they use their own minds or they copied it there's nothing you or anyone else can do. Everyone has copied something from someone, doesn't matter what, doesn't matter when, doesn't matter how. It's all in the mix.

Live and learn.

this is false when textures are being ripped to make a duplicate

This is excellent advice, even for people who are primarily in it for profit. You have to find the way to protect the joy that got you in to creating things in SL in the first place, and that way will be different for different people. For some it will be aggressively seeking out infringement and playing DMCA whack-a-mole. For others it will be to purposely try not to pay too much attention to infringement. For myself, I definitely fall into the latter category. The less I know the less I feel under siege and violated. I've also stopped worrying about how well I'm "competing" and I don't pressure myself to put out new stuff except when I feel like it. I enjoy making a profit (and I don't really want to think about how much more difficult life would be without that extra money every month), but at the end of the day, for me, getting that IM that says "I just bought X and just wanted to tell you how much I love it" is worth more - that's the real joy.

Beyond that, there some other great advice in this thread, especially about brand. The stronger your brand, the less piracy can hurt you. Be good to your customers and they'll be good to you.

Yes, I know, everyone thinks they were the originators of whatever they happen to create and everyone else is just copying from them.

Amazing isn't it? All these geniuses in one game and the world in such a mess. They all claim to be the original creators of everything they have. But if this is true then who came second?

"If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants."

Sir Isaac Newton

Because if we didn't, they'd have nothing to copy?

seen this... ?
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=BX5oo0NNxeU
probably how your cars were stolen.

For every ARMY of people looking to copy you, you have 10 ARMIES who aren't interested in copying, either because they dont know how to copy or they morally refuse.

Also JR I'd suggest, if possible, put scripts in your vehicles. Sure a nice prim car is wonderful to have on your lawn, lol, but copybot doesnt copy scripts... a working car is nicer than a non-working one!

I have at least one of jr's cars, and it no longer works. It was never a really good car. The script was pretty basic. Looked great though, and had some amusing poses.

I always thought that putting an update script in it would have been a great idea.

An update/upgrade script could check on offline database (or an online one) for known buyers and act appropriately.

Could also be used to upgrade stuff that's broken (like my car HINT HINT).

1 user agrees.

Out of 12 million or more of us there is only small percent of content makers
who make over 100 usd a month or more, little over 100 people make over 5000 usd.
How many of those people are making content that earn it from original and high quality content they have produced themselves?
How many do you think out of that group are making more then 100 usd a month
copy other people's work or doing reselling someone else's work without their
consent? Yes there is lot of shops selling things they shouldn't i.e selling like
Robin's UV templates, Torley Linden's Watermelon and other Linden textures, charging 500 to 1200L$ for book tutorials one could find in the wiki,Freebies,etc but are really paying
their tier doing this?
Just curious because of the concern and stuff I have observed.
The thing is people actually think they can get a head by cheating and
maybe they do.
Personally I will continue to create for fun and challenge if it
means low profits, even if its not worthy of copying.

Maybe you need to consider if you create for the love of creating or if you create for the love of money.
One way is the wrong way.

Or (c) do you love creating so other people can make money?

This is a really good point FD.. just because someone rips you off and is trying to sell something or give it away does not mean they will be successful at it. At a certain point its easier to just learn to make stuff on your own rather than come up with new ways or copying.. I think the paying market in SL, folks who have been around even a little while can tell the difference between original stuff and rip offs or blatant copies. It takes alot more than any single product to turn into any substantial gain in SL.

-why

LL are getting allot better at investigating and following up on DMCA's. Since the post I made above 2 months ago myself and my associates have managed to get another 9 accounts banned (I keep a list) and 7 suspensions for more minor infractions.

LL are now responding faster than ever before in my experience and they seem to be banning poeple more now rather than just suspending them so have faith in the system.