Views of copyrighted material

Just wanted to share my opinion and get some feedback for what everyone thinks about this issue.

I am guessing what Linden Labs are worried about are lawsuits from copyrighted material. Here is what I view this as for copyrighted music:

Those rampaging record companies are looking for full version songs that people can download via P2P networks and that are permenant on a person's computer. I do not view SL as having any of this. I view it as streaming audio more than permenant. It's only in 9-10 sec clips and you can't access it unless you are in a certain position(where the record is) and you gotta log into SL to hear it. It's in your cache so it's only going to stay on your computer until the cache is cleared, it's broken up so you have to really struggle outside of SL to hear it(Unless you got a prog), and it's not P2P because the people who buy it in world have the same restrictions.

Post in here to share your opinion on this and other copyrighted material. I want to hear people's thoughts.

I see it being and issue Derek, for one fact. It was copied in the first place.

Granted, I too enjoy having music in SL, especailly that which others can hear.

well what can they do? They can stop selling recording instruments and that will make people stop putting stuff on the web. Then to me the record companies should be suing the companies that make those record companies all the big bucks. Mics and amps and guitars and all, that's all eletronic equipment that in some form or another represents music made.

So to deny the consumer the right to buy a microphone for hypothetical reasons only is to deny the record companies the right to produce music. I look at it as looking for someone to blame. Why should customers be blamed for what the companies who make this equipment for sale to the public? I just look at the whole music thing as someone crying over spilled milk, friggggin WAHHHH. Too bad and no not sad, pathetic.

I am not sure that I understand why you were talking about insturments. We are refering to Copyrighted songs. By all means if you created a song in RL put it in SL, I would love to hear it! If you created it, its no longer a copyright issue.

I don't follow you here
That's not always an issue. I have 500+ CDs that I ripped myself so that I can save the CDs getting scratched. These are copies that aren't illegal.

I agree with Derek. Record companies are worried about people getting their hands on songs in such a way that they don't have to buy it. In SL, you dont actauly get a complete song comparable to a store bought CD. You get a clip that you can only really hear in game. If anything it would make people go buy the album (or look for it on kazaa )

Anyhow, the same bruhaha happened with tapes came out and people could start recording off of the radio, and today its a non-issue. The record companies threw the same kind of fit then, I think this will be a non-issue in time.

The difference Madox is fair use. You can rip copies of your CDs for your use, and make copies for your use legally. You can not however give those copies away. It is illegal to give them away.

It is illegal to upload copyrighted songs (or anything) to SL unless you own the copyright. It is also against the SL terms of service.

But that probably isn't really what you are asking. Will you get prosecuted for violating copyright law on SL? I don't know. I would argue perhaps that it is a restricted medium for sharing as already stated and that the music industry may be more interested in bigger, more prolific cases. However that doesn't mean that you won't get a ban from SL or that the music industry can't sue you or that if they did you would have any chance at all of winning.

It is probably very unlikely that you will get sued for uploading copyrighted material to SL. However SL may get sued for distributing copyrighted material, especially if they hold thousands of copyrighted works on their servers, which is definatly feasable and foreseeable. And for that reason it is against the SL ToS to upload copyrighted material and you should be banned and the offending material whipped from the servers if you do this.

Am I confused here? I understand I cannot give or sell copyrighted material to others. But I AM allowed to upload clips of music I have purchased for my listening pleasure in my own home in Shipley, right? I can play a recording for my guests in my real home, and I assume I can play music for my virtual guests as well.

It all constitutues Personal Use. We are not filesharing, like Napster or Kazaa. Now, it IS true that one could search through one's Cache folder and piece together the clips and try to smoothly edit them back together to form a copy of the original song someone played for you, BUT that would be more like someone overriding SL's copy protection scheme, NOT like SL was serving files for sharing. I don't think ANY judge would consider the current technology to be SL promoting piracy.

If I piece the clips together and then give a copy to you, then *I* am breaking the law. If I play a copy of a song from my new Joanie Madden Irish Pennywhistle CD, then it is STILL personal use. In fact, I'm pretty sure I can play the song over the telephone to you and it will still be personal use.

I canNOT provide you a copy of the music, nor can I facilitate you making a copy of the music. I am also prevented from PERFORMING the music - I can't broadcast the music over an internet radio station, for instance, without paying a license fee. So, I would assume, that means I can't upload my whistle music and use it as the background music for the commercial I'm going to air on Gassy Cat's new network television. Nor can I make a music video with it and play it on Rose's Channel One.

But I CAN play it for you when you come to visit.

Have I gotten the idea, or am I completey wrong? And, if it turns out that I am somehow not legally entitled to play a song for a guest, can I get that in a direct statement from Linden Labs?





I don't think

It is perhaps a fine line for you, but not for Linden Lab or SL.

According to the SL ToS everything you upload becomes the property of SL. They are then redistributing that material. There is nothing stopping you from giving or selling the song you uploaded in game to other people in game. Linden Lab has no way of verifying that the person playing it is using fair use or not. What is preventing you from uploading a bunch of songs and holding an inworld concert? And then giving away all the songs?

I am not a lawyer. I have been following the RIAA etc cases fairly closely. But I am not a laywer.

There are two problems I see:

One is that if 1,000 people (a small portion of the potential residents in second life) each upload 10 songs (less than 1 album each) SL is suddenly hosting 10,000 copyrighted works on servers they own. And *they* don't own the copyright for those, to use or distribute. And that is a way underestimate. It becomes very easy for SL servers to end up holding millions of copyrighted works, especially if you include images and movies in your list.

The second is that uploading copyrighted materials to which you do not own the copyright directly violates the agreement you agreed to when you started playing. There are no terms of fair use. In fact uploading songs directly violates copyright beyond fair use because by uploading anything you are giving it and the rights to it to Second Life. If those rights aren't yours to give...... And the reason for this section of the ToS is clear from my first reason. Allowing people to upload copyrighted material puts SL and Linden Lab in a potentially vulnerable position.

All IMHO, IANAL, PDSM.