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My SL niece got this from another SL kid in game .... Now is everyone getting this warning now ? If so then there is alot of ppl that is going to be out of business for using Steelers textures , carebears , kitty , etc etc ... Thought this was 2nd life not 1st life

TRADEMARKS AND COPYRIGHT IN SL

In Second Life, we hope creators will use their imagination to make content. Some create things that are inspired by real life objects, like cars or jewelry. As Second Life gets larger, we receive more questions about usage of copyrighted or trademarked material in Second Life.

You should not use copyrighted or trademarked material in Second Life, unless of course you have a right to use the intellectual property. Your rights are defined by applicable copyright and trademark law, including the law of fair use. These are complicated laws, and understanding our Terms of Use (http://secondlife.com/corporate/tos.php) and DMCA information (http://secondlife.com/corporate/dmca.php) is only a very small start to understanding applicable laws. Real world laws apply to intellectual property infringement, and nothing about your use of Second Life will shield you if you are infringing on someone else?s intellectual property ? the rightful owner of the IP can take direct legal action against you in real world courts of law. The following describes more detail about how Linden staff treat trademark and copyright issues in-world:


TRADEMARKED MATERIAL

Linden staff generally removes content that uses trademarks without apparent authorization, with or without giving notice to the object owner. This generally includes all RL corporate logos and brand names.

It is often difficult to tell what may or may not be trademarked. However, use of designer logos and brand names without permission, such as Gucci, Nike, Louis Vuiton, etc., are usually not acceptable. Any resident may file an abuse report if they see any other resident making unauthorized use of trademarked material in SL.

For more information, visit the US Patent & Trademark Homepage: http://www.uspto.gov/index.html

You can also use the trademark look-up feature on that website:
Use the Search tool under Trademarks on the left navigation when you go to US Patent & Trademark Homepage.
- Use the "New User Form Search (Basic)"
- Under View Search History, select "Plural & Singular " & "Live" radio buttons
- Enter the name of the business in question (ie. Nike)
- Press "Submit Query"


COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

Linden Lab follows the procedures described in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (?DMCA?) regarding copyrighted materials. This generally means that Lindens will not remove copyrighted material unless the owner of the copyrighted material notifies Linden Lab in accordance with the DMCA process noted on our website, at http://secondlife.com/corporate/dmca.php.

If a DMCA notice is filed, and it meets the standard for a complete claim, Linden Lab will then expeditiously remove the indicated materials in-world. Note that the item must appear in-world for Linden Lab to take any action.

Repeated copyright or trademark violations by a resident can result in their account being placed on probation or permanently banned.

Again, this is just a very brief description of laws pertaining to intellectual property. Residents interested in this topic are encouraged to more fully examine the materials available at:
http://www.copyright.gov/
http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Copyright
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Trademark
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/

Bottom line: we prefer that our residents be as original as possible when creating their content, and we ask that all of our residents respect the intellectual property rights of others.

Well, because we're talking about laws that basically give legal control over particular images, those laws still apply within the game. Linden Labs has no choice but to comply with the law. Now, the biggest issue is going to be with vendors - selling stuff with somebody else's copyrighted art or trademarked symbol on it is just not on, that's making money off of somebody else's stuff. Given Linden to Dollar exchange rates, not -much- money, but enough to see real lawsuits over because it may make it technically 'for profit', and those companies would try to sue LL for 'losses' if they thought LL was complicit in the violations.

The other issue is if you happen to already have, I dunno, a T-shirt with a Care Bear on it, I don't think you have to run and take it away from your niece. I would not hazard a guess as to what the legal standing on that situation actually is, but in general it is poor public relations to sue children wearing your cartoon character. (I recommend, however, not wearing anything from any major label musical group or from Disney. Both the Recording Industry Association of America, and Walt Disney Studios have been known to pursue ridiculous lawsuits against customers who were neither profiting nor causing any harm, despite the PR damage that such lawsuits causes. Most other holders of copyright and trademark are more reasonable.)

That is the reason I have always refused to make t-shirts and other products that have Anime or game characters on them, even though they would be wildly popular sellers. The only way to LEGALLY use some other company's trademarks, Service Marks, or copyrighted stuff is the same as it is in the Real World. You have to contact the company and license the rights to use that material in SL. Or you have to be doing it on behalf of the company that owns the copyrights (IE: They hired you to do it and they likely get a cut of the profits, if not all the profits).

Disney employees could open an SL store and sell Disney merchandise in SL, as a business venture for Disney Corporation. YOU, as an individual not affilliated with Disney, could not make T-shirts that depict Disney characters.