Gorilla Tactics

Ok this situation is really worrying me as I am a loss of what to expect

A few days ago a rival (I suppose) merchant accused me of using stolen product that he claims he made.. Now being that I made & have proof that I made these sculp maps back in the middle of last year & have been selling them for allmost a year & he/she didnt release thier version untill 6 month ago.. I am concerned !!

#1 he/she used gorilla tactics (brought in 10-15 friends to threaten me) at my store to intimidate me & insist i closed my store
#2 if they put in a DMCA where do I satnd as I cant afford to go to court
#3 the product claimed is more than likely a copy of my work (yes it looks identical)
#4 How would one determine if a sculp map is a copy & how would one prove that?

I am actually working on new sculp maps to upgrade this product & will probably have them ready this weekend, but how can I avoid this again? Mu maps are Alpha Protected so they cant be copied with a screen shot.. But that seems not obe enough, can I register my work somwhere ??? Any help here would be greatly apreciated as I do not know where to turn & am very distressed that my own work can be removed by LL because somone accuses me of wrongful posession

wouldn`t worry to much

LL can see from the texture used on wich date it was uploaded

file a dmca back
ban them all and file AR`s

If he files a DMCA then LL would temporarily remove the allegedly infringing content from in-world (best case they return your vendor prim, worst case they blacklist the sculpt texture itself. It seems to tend to do the former more than the latter though) and lets you know.

You then have the option to counterfile after which LL will restore the content (things can go wrong here though such as coming back to you with restricted permissions or otherwise mangled so having a copy around on an alt somewhere and offline wouldn't hurt).

In the couterfile you basically assert that "no, I did create this and/or I do have the right to be using this content the way I am".

The filer now has to actually take you court to take things any further. Filing false DMCAs is used as a griefing tactic as well though (since it temporarily forces LL to remove your content).

First of all you'd see if the UUID of the two sculptmaps match. If they match then one is a copy of the other.

If they don't match you save your rival's sculptmap to disk and compare it to your own to see if there are any substantial differences.

If it turns out to be a copy of your work then you can file a DMCA against him and if he counterfiles and you can't take it to court then that's that.

For obvious reasons I'm not going to describe (on here or in private) how to either get a sculptmap's UUID from a prim, or how to save it disk so the explanation doesn't really help you .

Alpha'ing a sculptmap just deters casual copying (ie screenshotting the sculpt), it doesn't accomplish any more than that.

Nor does it matter if a prim is mod or no mod for that matter and someone doesn't even have to own it to get the sculptmap from it, just having access to a rezzed copy somewhere is enough.

The viewer needs the sculptmap to render the sculpty so there really isn't anything you can do to deter someone who's determined to get it. The only real option is "name and shame" (although you can't on the official forums here) and hope that word gets around.

Ah... the DMCA as a griefer tool.

Ain't SL grand?

Yea well If they are wrong on their DMCA then it could cost them in man hours and lawyer fees. Could back fire on them if they dont watch it lol'

Further info on DMCA:

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

There are penalties for filing a false DMCA, to whit:

Further info from the Second Life blog:

http://blog.secondlife.com/2008/06/17/responding-to-questions-about-the-dmca-process/

Also, be aware that when counter-filing, your real life info will be given to the person filing the original DMCA against you.

From Massively.com:

http://www.massively.com/2008/09/11/dmca-notices-in-second-life-a-practical-example/

Hope those links help.

Wouldn't that still require the OP to actually take the (alleged) infringer to court?

I thought a false filing/counterfile was mostly just evidence that would come back to haunt you *if* it ever comes to a trial. If you know the other won't take you to court then it doesn't seem like much of a deterrent not to make false claims.

Gorilla Tactics? They beat their chest, tore up vegetation and threw it at you?

*grins*

((Sorry, couldn't resist, and we'd had some serious answers))

Well As Skell Posted above you quoting the blog on Sl

Also be aware that persons who materially misrepresent copyright infringement in DMCA claims may be liable for damages, including attorneys’ fees and costs. In one case, a company that sought removal of content protected by the fair use doctrine paid over $100,000 USD. For more on this, see here. If you’re unsure whether certain content infringes your copyright, we suggest speaking to an attorney before submitting a DMCA claim.

I think when a DMCA Is filed. they put their Lawyers on it and also Man hours involved to investigate the claim. they are not going to just take anyones word for it that it is a true claim.
I could be wrong tho. I am not an expert. But makes sense.

Here's an interesting article from Massively describing a case where the person who had a false DMCA claim filed against them got royally screwed.

http://www.massively.com/2008/09/11/dmca-notices-in-second-life-a-practical-example/

Highlights from the article:



edit to include: Sorry Skell, I didn't see that you had already referenced the article.

The person in question uses web aquired images on his/her products. Some of which are ripped from major RL corporations. So this inturn has the "Pot calling the Kettle Black" Hmmmmm........ I was quite amused actally when I saw this & even have an urge to email the most prominent of these companies & inform them of this Copyright Violation

Just sayin'

But honest they were bannanas & poo they were flingin