Trademark Learning and Resource Center

I would like to get some feedback on an idea that I have.

Relevant thread: /120/a6/57196/1.html

This is my idea:

I would like to use a portion of my land to create an in-world learning and resource center to help residents understand the issues surrounding trademark infringement and to encourage better marketing strategies. My goal would be to take an educate-first strategy to solving the trademark infringement problems that threaten creative freedom within Second Life.

The first part of this idea involves the creation of a library of information that helps to show how infringement hurts our community, puts Linden Labs at legal risk, damages the trademark holders, and provides unfair advantage to those willing to steal a brand to promote their products. I start with the belief that when most people understand that what they are doing is wrong, they will change their behavior.

The second part of this idea is where my real passion lies. Having a background in both IT and brand management I have to tell you that one of the neatest things I have seen here in SL is some of the homegrown brands that have sprung up by creative people (thinking PREEN, WetIkon/Seburo, Avalon, PixelDolls, etc.).

So, I would like to create a useful library of resources that can help in-world marketers develop their own brands, logos and trade dress. These would range from tutorials and examples, to interviews with some of the creative people here in Second Life that have launched our most compelling brands.

I'd like to see more of this kind of brand creation within SL. I think we can accomplish this by educating, encouraging, nurturing and leading.

So my question to the community is: Do you feel like this is a worthwhile project? Would you visit such a place or would you encourage potential infringers to take a look?

And my question to our cyber-brand managers is: Would you be willing to share your story and some examples to help encourage a more healthy and vibrant marketing environment within Second Life?

Any thoughts or comments would be very helpful,

Persephone Milk

'Tis a noble idea, but I think a number of threads have shown that some people prefer their intuituion about trademarks to be unsullied by reality.

I think you are better off putting up a sign with the US Patent and Trademark Office Trademark FAQ and let those who would choose to be educated be so. Should save some exasperation on your side.

Good Idea. I love it! Problem is people don't want help avoiding. The violation so much as they want to violate or have violateers removed.

1 Actualy, I'd like to read a well-writtenarticle about how you think this is damaging & it's very possible i'll change my mind on this matter.
So.. my suggestion is: start with a forum post.

2 I do *love* the idea of a library about promoting brands isl etc. SO if you're going to do that I know i'll appriciate it!

Yeah, I can share stories & such.

Thank you all for the great feedback. Hiro, I will put you down as somebody to talk to as this project gets off the ground. Canimal, I get most excited about building the brand library myself, so perhaps I will have your support for that aspect of the project.

Canimal, let me ask you a question. You said would like to read a compelling argument for how this is damanging. Are you referring to trademark infringement in general, or specifically within Second Life? In other words, do generally agree that RL infringement is harmful, but feel that SL is a special situation where trademarks, copyrights and other IP protections should be more relaxed? I am asking this question to help guage how I should approach this project. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Persephone Milk

I hope you're successful, but my experience is that the initial hurdle is quite high. Trademarks are so pervasive that for most people they're just part of the environment, and they can't see how using a company's logo might be "wrong."

I've tried to explain this to people before, but I haven't been able to find a good metaphor to describe trademark ownership.

There is something about how emotional people get about wanting to use trademarks that might be a good starting point. This desire to use what's in their evironment comes up against ideas of what's right and fair and what the law says.

I tend to agree with you Chip - though I may still pursue this project with a hopeful spirit

I find it very interesting that the farther we move into virtual space, the less regard we have for intellectual property rights. A person who would never think of mass duplicating compact discs containing music or software has no concern for doing essentially the same thing through a peer-to-peer network (I used Napster too - so I do not claim sainthood for myself). Somebody who understands that the law will not permit them to create t-shirts featuring Disney characters in real life expects to be able to do just that in Second Life and bristles at the thought that they are doing anything wrong.

If we expect Second Life to grow beyond the mere curiosity that it is today, and if we understand that it is more than just a game - that it is a platform for creative expression, communication and entertainment - then surely we must recognize the importance of intellectual property rights within this space. If we expect our own creations here to be protected, should we not recognize the rights of others?

One thing is certain: the big, rich and evil corporations who own these trademarks have an absolute obligation to protect them. If they ignore infringers, no matter how seemingly insignificant - and fail to take action to protect thier property rights - they lose those rights under law. So you can expect that as Second Life grows, you will see more active and aggressive efforts to stop infringement.

Linden Labs will be devoting more time and resources to cracking down on this type of behavior. This is unfortunate for us because we would prefer they focus on the software, hardware and services that make Second Life so compelling for us. And then, if they feel they have no choice but to respond with draconian steps that reduce our creative freedom here, we all lose because the viablity of this project in the long term would be in jeopardy.

All of this being said, I do get the sense from feedback here and in-world, that the "Brand Showcase" component of my little project may get more community interest and support than an effort to merely repeat information that can easily be obtained from the Patent and Trademark office. Perhaps by showing people by way of example the right way to create and promote products here in Second Life, trademark infringement would naturally decline.

Or perhaps, this really is just wishful thinking.

Persephone Milk

I've not seen anything to indicate that a majority of Westerners even understands the concept of intellectual property or how fundamental those concepts are to the system in which they live. Just look at the confusion on this site. During the Cold War, there was often the snide comment made that anything you invented became the property of the "State" in the U.S.S.R... and that was baaaaaad. Yet somehow many in the West have developed amnesia and forgotten those comparisons. Short-term memory? Or is it more likely they never fundamentally understood what that really meant?

Recently there was a "Point:Counterpoint"-style set of essays over on MIT's Technology Review site. After the two initial point-of-views were put on the table, Lessig's follow-up effectively put the two much closer together in their positions (and imo, Epstein laid out a brilliant argument which demanded a response; Lessig sounded to me like someone beating the "socialist/communist" drum tbh). It's worth reading their entries and they can be found here - (the first three articles... written by Lessig and Epstein).



I suspect this is because some people are unable to bridge the conceptual gap between material and virtual objects (even though they regularly assign value to both). And some people are simply wary of being held accountable for their actions; if they could steal real CD's and get away with it, they would. And some use the ludicrous "unjustified cost" argument as if a) music prices have increased more than other goods and b) music is a "need" and not a luxury. I'm constantly amazed by the sense of entitlement I see in those around me (and even television commercials reinforce this...e.g. "Get the credit you deserve!".



Unfortunately in todays' oppressive, corporate/Big Brother/RFID-tag everything environment, the response appears to be to extract a measure of freedom online. The problem is, I don't consider that a solution for a very simple reason: I believe it's self-defeating.

If people want their freedom back (and I'm all for significantly changing Copyright laws, for example), afaic they need to retrieve it in the real world using the powerful tools they already have at their disposal: their vote and their pocketbook. Why? Because that's where the issue is. And that's where the problem lies. But more importantly, imo the biggest threat to the corporations who control the politicians who write our laws are the new companies who are too often the most hurt by these *freedoms* (the ones claimed by the "it's only virtual" crowd). Why? Because the internet levels the playing field and allows smaller companies and even individuals to engage in commerce at the same level as a large corporation. It helps the "Long Tail" to transition into a different form - one which reflects changes in distribution and marketing and the coming radical shift in manufacturing. The virtual space is the great equalizer. It removes many of the advantages that corporations enjoy in the real world today. It's no trivial thing.

Yet what is the internet too often used for... piracy. To steal the crap that some corporate thinktank (or more likely, some retail buyer) thought should be the new cool trend for the season. All that crap is descended upon by people exercising their "rights" and being "free", but that's just translated into marketing noise through which those who might compete with the corporations have to get their message. They most likely just get drowned out in the frenzy and either die or never grow, all thanks to people I consider hypocritics who - even though they didn't pay for that movie (the one they "deserved" - still maintained the unfair status quo they claim to be undermining. Ha. So in the end, piracy in the supposed service of freedom just tightens the shackles as far as I'm concerned. And imo it's ignorance of these issues that will allow things to get worse.



More importantly imo, is that we let them keep their trademarks and develop new one's instead. Trademark is an abstract virtual concept to start with. And it's worth is dictated by all of us. We'd all do well to remember that. If we ignore a company and refuse to buy it's products, the value of the trademark diminishes and there's nothing a big, rich, and evil corporation can do about that.



It's also unfortunate because people using these brands illegally are effectively promoting these corporations and doing what I said above: making it harder for small original brands to compete. If people read Robin's responses to the Hotline questions I posted on these issues, they'll find an acknowledgement that at least some concern is directed towards this issue.



I wish I could say I'm hopeful, but I've not seen anything to indicate to me that people want to actually think about what they're doing. For all the supposed independent-mindedness, I see a lot of sheep. I just don't think they realize it or care.

It came to me that, especially in games like SL, it might work to describe trademark law as a game whose rules may or may not have anything to do with common sense.

In SL we accept some arcane rules without really considering whether they make sense: The prim limit on parcels comes to mind. We accept that there is a limit. We know that the rule says: to get more prims, buy more land. We know that the rule has a gotcha: the extra land must be in the same sim. We know that this leads to some underdeveloped prim farm parcels dotting the sim.

We know (we are told) that these prim-allocation rules have their roots in the implementation details of sim servers. But we're all fairy technically astute. We know that the current prim allocation scheme isn't the same as the original one, that others are possible, and that "technical limitations" is a euphemism for "we're fine with the way it works and putting our energies elsewhere." But we accept the explanations as part of the prim game within SL.

So treat trademarks like that. It's a game. Some of the rules make "sense," some seem to be at odds with other rules, and others have their roots in implementation details.

Some of the rules of the trademark game are:

1. Trademarks are a limited resource.
2. Trademark acquisition is difficult but has long-term payoff.
3. A successful trademark is one that enters and pervades public space.
4. A successful trademark may only be used by the trademark owner or allies.
5. A trademark that pervades public space but isn't protected loses value.
6. A trademark owner must protect the mark at all costs.
7. A trademark owner must ensure the pervasiveness of the mark.
8. Losing a trademark is a mortal blow to the trademark owner.