Have you read the latest news about copyright infringement ?

This link IS safe to click:

http://forums.secondcitizen.com/showthread.php?t=15428

err why not just put a link to the article?

http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/07/03/sl-business-sues-for-copyright-infringement/ original article from reuters

http://blogs.zdnet.com/social/?p=237 some guys blog leading to the article and a summary..

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Second Life: avatar sued for copyright infringement
Posted by Steve O'Hear @ 7:32 am



In Focus » See more posts on: Second Life

Worthwhile? When Second Life’s makers, Linden Lab, made the decision to allow users to retain all intellectual property rights for virtual items that they created, it was always likely that the virtual world would someday be dragged into court. And that’s exactly what’s set to happen.

As Reuters reports:

Second Life entrepreneur Kevin Alderman filed a copyright infringement lawsuit on Tuesday against Second Life resident Volkov Catteneo, and Alderman’s lawyer said he plans to subpoena Linden Lab to force it to disclose Catteneo’s real-world identity.

Catteneo’s operator is accused of selling copies of a virtual sex bed, without the permission of the copyright holder, Alderman. However, the first thing Alderman’s legal team have to achieve is persuading the court to force Linden Lab and PayPal to hand over records revealing the real-life identity of avatar, Catteneo.

Some other interesting tidbits from the Reuters article.

It’s not clear how Catteneo replicated the virtual object in question (if indeed he did), as the item was set to ‘no copy’, an in-world option that is supposed to technically prohibit coping. Could this be evidence of a new Second Life exploit?
When the abuse was reported to Linden Lab, citing a DMCA violation, the company was reluctant to get involved. Instead, Alderman was told to file an in-world abuse report, suggesting that Linden wanted to avoid being dragged into legal proceedings.
Alderman is the same Second Life entrepreneur who earlier this year sold the virtual replica of Amsterdam for $50,000.
Will this create a precedent for how IP issues are dealt with in virtual worlds such as Second Life? Unlike other potential issues related to emerging virtual worlds, such a defamation or harassment/abuse, I’m not sure IP rights are any more complicated compared to other areas of online life. Creative works are protected, in the digital domain or otherwise, whether they are deemed ‘virtual’ or not.

The real interest here, therefore, is not IP, but data protection. In terms of the rights of the individual to keep separate their virtual and real life identities.

Catteneo, who declined to provide his real name, said he doesn’t fear the subpoena. “I’m not some kind of noob,” Catteneo said. “My name isn’t on [Linden Lab’s] file. I don’t even have a permanent address [in real life] either.”


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There's already a lively discussion about this in the "intellectual property" thread:
/327/7c/194550/5.html#post1574454

In most places, it is *against the law* to do business under a fake name without filing papers with the local authority. For example, if you own Smiths Coffee Shop, and your name is not Smith, then you have to file papers saying who you really are.

Eventually, local authorities are going to go after SL businesses that do not file DBA (doing business as).

Actually, I'm not sure whether that applies to SL. After all, you aren't receiving money directly to your av, you get payments in pretend currency. The only time you get real money is when you cash out, and that goes to your RL name. Not saying whether or not DBA requirements apply to SL businesses, just pointing out that it isn't as cut and dried as you might at first assume.

Incidentally, I don't think your example with Smith's Coffee Shop is correct. I don't think it's a problem to name your store whatever you want as long as you don't violate any trademarks, the issue would be if you started accepting checks from customers or signing contracts with the name Smith.

Aren't almost all SL businesses run by people not using their real name?

Typically, the main penalty of transacting business under a fictitious name, without appropriate registration, is that the courts will not protect any of the business that you transact under the unregistered fictitious name. Thus, for example, you may not be able to sue to enforce a contract that you executed under your unregistered fictitious name. (This doesn't affect the other party's right to sue you to enforce the contract, except that they have to sue you under a legally recognizable name.)

At least within the UK, you don't need to file any particular documents to trade under your, or any other, name. It can help to do so if a dispute arises over who used a particular name to trade under first, and it is required if your turnover exceeds certain thresholds or you deal in certain goods considered taxable.

Just a curio, but copyrights registered under pseudonyms are only given 75 years of protection from the date of file as compared to the 100 years after date of death if filed under your real name.

*makes a note to make and market Sexgen beds in 2084, if Second Life or myself are still around*

Broccoli

trademarks are good for as long as you use them, so if SexGen is still being used by then, you're still out of luck

/me gets irritated when people mix up copyright and trademark - they are not the same at all.

also - holy necroposting Broccoli

LolLercopTer twice and then once more. Interesting reading, though Never thought of the fact that people will one day inherit virtual properties, fortunes and copyrights inside virtual worlds.