Texture and Prim Thief. What do I do about it?

I have caught resident Catwoman Ember stealing texture and prim objects from both me and from the store TheAbyss (Stolen skin from there).

What course of action(s) can be taken against this person who's been stealing MY stuff for over a year. I have tried to deal with her on a 1 on 1 level and it is not working. She is selling stolen goods on SLX.... What can be done? She's clearly using a Texture Ripper and a Prim Copybot to steal and resell other's works.

If she's using a copybot program, that's a TOS violation, file an abuse report. If she's stealing your content, that also falls under the auspices of the DMCA. File a DMCA claim against her.

Naming names is a nono. That said, there is no seller by that moniker on Xstreet.

https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=1426452

Thanks for your helpful response, first reply-er.

Additionally, I think its possible that the Merchant (NEVER NAME THE NAME OF A THIEF, OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF POLITICALLY CORRECT PEOPLE) has taken her items down off of SLX. But this doesn't really bring me comfort, as I have been fighting with her for over a year.

It's not available. And yes AR the person. Also report the item you found on Xstreet to them. They appear to be gone. BTW, I am not being PC, I'm being in compliance.

LOL Saffron do you have a licence from Eidos for those things?

it's true, Saffron. Argus was only trying to help you avoid possibly being suspended from the forums. she, herself, may not have anything against naming names, but Linden Labs do.

Or suffer the consequences of a Linden Lab suspension hey, the advice was sound, you're not allowed to name names in such cases on this forum.

As for the problem in general, you may want to read how Linden Lab are working to improve the situation:

https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/community/blog/2009/08/04/our-content-management-roadmap

Saffron, people are not being politically correct. Naming names (especially in a negative, potentially libellious light such as this, no matter the reason) is something that will get your thread locked and could potentially earn you a suspension. Suspension from the forums usually means an equal suspension inworld.

As to the stolen items, all those affected must go through Linden Lab's DMCA process, which you can find here:

http://secondlife.com/corporate/dmca.php

Be aware that only the creators of each item can file a DMCA for their item. In the example you have given on XstreetSL, the skin creator must file only for the skin and (according to the item's discussion section) you must file for your accessories that were stolen. Only Eidos Entertainment can file for their textures, which you may or may not wish to contact them about.

Also, be aware that, if you used textures created by Eidos Entertainment in your accessories, without purchasing a license to use them, *you* might be the subject of a DMCA. You must also own copyright of (or a license to use in your own creations) any sculpties/sculptmaps that were used to make your accessories. Part of the full DMCA claim runs thus:

There are penalties for filing a false DMCA:

Having read all of that, if all parties concerned know they own full copyright for the items concerned, the DMCA is the *only* official option for redress that you have.

I haven't even gone into the issue of copyright for the Lara Croft 'image' itself.

(Incidentally, being sarcastic to people who are helpful on here never usually works in a poster's favour.)

Saffron, guilty or no, please do the right thing and edit the first post and remove the name of the accused resident.

I think you're mixing up copyright and trademark. The OP is playing fast and loose with the Lara Croft trademark, but trademarks aren't directly covered by the DMCA takedown process. I also think it's unlikely that any Eidos textures were used, since it's easier to make and texture your own sculpt maps than to turn an arbitrary mesh into one.

Still, you may be right in invoking the unclean hands doctrine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unclean_hands

It could be both.

Just because a texture wasn't used directly doesn't mean there's no copyright infringement. If the character is recognizable, and merely put into a different pose or background, then one might argue that it's a derived work. I'm not saying that's the case here, but neither would I rule it out.