So it has hit the Associated Press which means you can find it just about everywhere: from newspapers to radio to TV, and of course all over the net. Some insightful discussions can be found on many of the SL forums, including SL Universe, Second Survivor, and the official SL forums (until the thread gets locked LOL).
I am going to add a link category (not right at this moment...but soon) to the side bar with bookmarks to media, blogs, and anything else related throughout this.
Be forewarned if you tend to get defensive about our Second Life. As usual, you have the naysayers, the ignorant, and the uninformed. It's extremely difficult to explain what Second Life is and isn't, and anyone who has tried will echo this sentiment I'm sure. And we always seem to carry a stigma due to the sexual content, which inarguably is a thriving portion of SL, but contrary to popular belief is certainly NOT a part of everyone's SL.
In the comments on today's Washington Post, the notorious Prokofy Neva claims to be the one who "broke" this. Well, fan or not, give the devil his due because he DID post the first related article that I know of on 10/22.
Next SLNN, Virtually Blind and SL Insider followed suit (no pun intended) and surprisingly, without much fanfare or comments. I tend to think this situation has thrown a lot of people for a loop.
Enter the New York Post on Sunday morning, complete with RL pic of the defendant, as well as quotes not only from him, but also a couple of the plaintiffs.
Monday morning is, of course, when everyone wakes up and gets back to work...google the case in question and you'll come up with several pages, both notable and not. Most feature the same AP article so it can be a bit of a scavenger hunt to find the ones featuring original reading. Information Week has one, as does Game Politics.
Your most intelligent discussions thus far though have come straight from our community in the aforementioned SL-related forums. They are not just "SL pwns vs. SL is teh suxxor." There is a lot of food for thought and copyright/DMCA/IP rights, etc going on.
I leave you with this: Let your favorite content creator(s) know how much you support them for the time and talent they put into making our world more beautiful everyday. Without them, we'd just be any other of the bunches of "virtual worlds" of which none even compare (or at least not yet) to Second Life. Be thankful for what we do have. And to those who say "get a real life"--I wonder what they did tonight after 10 hours of work for their lower-middle-class pay? Most likely they watched the boob tube and/or sat here trolling for stories to leave more scathing, uninformed comments on. I choose RL with a healthy dose of SL, where interactivity and creativity abound. I think DoC sums it up best with his store slogan: Your only limitation, is your imagination.
~QQ~
More on "The Case"
The Real Consequences of Virtual Theft
Theft of Second Life content creation has been a growing illegal industry and creators have long been frustrated with the difficulty of protecting their products. In many cases Linden Lab has been contacted, DMCA’s (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) have been filed, and in some instances content creator’s have stopped creating altogether or felt so disheartened that they’ve left SL entirely out of frustration.
Things are about to change as a group of well-known designers and creators have taken real life legal action, straight to the US District Court, seeking to set a precedent and to send a message to those residents who are acting illegally by copying original designs by means such as taking advantage of what some have claimed as longtime, well-known exploits.
Utilized as a last resort, filing suit should prove to be the most effective means to settle matters of this sort, however it can be quite an undertaking. But what options are SL’s creators left with to protect their items, creativity, and in some cases, their livelihood? Linden Lab has stood by their claim that SL is not a game. For those that disagree, content thieves especially, game’s over.
In this instance there is not only copyright infringement, but trademark violation as well. It is up to each individual how far they want to go to protect their business and designs, but it can be done via incorporation, as well as by filing the appropriate trademark and copyright claims.
In SL’s few short years of existence the population has exploded, especially in the past two years, and just like the real world bad seeds do inevitably exist within the confines of this virtual community. While the lawsuit in question may not be particularly about seeking monetary compensation, more importantly it should serve as a wakeup call. Exploits do not give you a right to steal or an excuse for doing it. Just because you own a gun, that doesn't give you the right to shoot anyone; just because you own a sports car does not mean you can drive over the limit.
It is my understanding that the defendant was given ample opportunity and reasonable time to settle this matter privately. He continued his non-compliant stance and claims of innocence even after being presented with what many will view as unquestionable evidence, much of which is available to the public via this Flickr collection. Does this appear to be activity of someone who is harmlessly cleaning out their inventory, or someone legitimately holding a yard sale? It is also important to note that several of these images show large quantities of copies from creator’s who have never given wholesale/resale rights.
For more info and details visit Virtually Blind, as well as this Google Document that went public this morning outlining the actions over the past 6-plus weeks that ultimiteley led to the suit being filed just a few days ago.
~QQ~