is exporting items legal?

Is the exporting of items from SL legal or illegal?

Unless you're the creator or you have approval from the creator, you don't have a license to distribute content in SL outside the service.

It's legal as long as it's items you made yourself. Exporting items or components made by other people requires the express permission of that person.

It's common sense if you think about it. You don't walk out of someone's house with their belongings unless they gave you permission to do so.

I fear this analogy breaks down somewhat in this instance. I have invested several thousand lindens in purchasing other people's work and I should be able to safeguard my investment.

Actually, what you have bought is access by UUID to data stored in LL's servers. The creators of those data retain their full intellectual property rights under Article 3.1 of the Terms of Service, subject to the limited distribution rights ceded to LL. It would seem that if you use the intellectual property in a way inconsistent with the ownership rights of the creators, you are violating copyright law. I'm not a lawyer, but I suspect that there's more than enough weasel room in all of this to keep a bank of lawyers happy for years. Personally, it's not a contest I'd care to get into for a few thousand Lindens, but that's me.