Taser Sues Second Life For Having Virtual Tasers

from the no,-seriously dept

Stun gun maker Taser is notoriously overprotective of its brand, even pushing judges and medical examiners never to list a Taser as a cause of death. However, this latest, as pointed out by Dave Title has the company going "virtual." Taser is suing Second Life because of virtual Tasers found in the game. Specifically, Taser seems upset that these virtual stun guns are being sold next to pornographic material, which (the company claims) will harm its brand. I'd argue that going around suing everyone probably does a lot more harm.

Of course, Second Life parent corp. Linden Lab doesn't actually make or sell these things, but just provides the platform -- so you might think that the company is protected by safe harbors. Except... one of the little loopholes in safe harbor rules is on trademark claims, which mostly aren't covered by either the DMCA's safe harbors or the CDA's. However, it should be covered by common sense (which is not so common, unfortunately).

If the virtual Tasers actually do infringe on Taser's trademark, then it seems that the liable party should be the user who made/sold them in the first place -- not Linden Lab, the platform creator. On top of that, there's the big question of whether or not this is actually trademark infringement at all. You could make an argument that users might believe that virtual Tasers were somehow endorsed by the company itself, but do such products really "harm" the Taser brand? Again, it seems a lot more harm is being done to the brand by silly lawsuits. And, yes, people will point out (they always do!), that the company has an obligation to protect its marks, but there are better ways to do so than suing.

Filed Under: safe harbors, second life, tasers, trademark, virtual tasers
Companies: linden lab, taser

Linden Labs Thinks It's The Sex That's Keeping Businesses Out Of Second Life

from the window-dressing dept

The trend of company after company announcing they were setting up shop in Second Life proved to be little more than a fad. Perhaps it was good for an initial publicity stunt, but many of the companies that entered the virtual world found it to be fairly worthless, from a marketing standpoint. The company behind Second Life, Linden Labs, doesn't seem to think this is why companies are staying away, rather it's because of all the sex-related activity that goes on there. So it's planning to move all of that to an "Adult Continent", so companies and brands will feel more comfortable stepping in to Second Life. While perhaps you have to admire their optimism, it doesn't seem likely that restricting sex-related activities to a virtual red-light district will suddenly make Second Life worthwhile for businesses. Furthermore, with the sex stuff believed to make up the vast majority of the Second Life economy, moving to restrict it in hopes of chasing companies' marketing dollars may not be a great strategy.

Filed Under: second life, sex

IRS May Be Gearing Up To Send Tax Collectors Into Second Life

from the how-much-is-the-tax-on-a-magic-sword? dept

It wasn't difficult to predict that this day was coming -- especially with both China and Australia already experimenting with charging taxes on virtual goods and transactions in virtual worlds. However, Game Politics points us to the news that the US's "taxpayer advocate" (we have such a thing?) is now suggesting the IRS start taxing transactions in virtual worlds as well. While the initial suggestion is for the IRS to just issue "guidelines" for taxpayers, that's the start down the path to active taxation in those worlds. This could get troublesome fast -- as you could easily see scenarios where kids who thought they were just playing a game suddenly owe significant real world taxes, just because they've been successful in the game and accumulated "valuable" assets. It seems fairly pointless, and potentially troublesome, to do any kind of taxation on virtual transaction until such time as real dollars exchange hands.

Filed Under: irs, second life, tax collections, taxes, virtual worlds

No, Second Life's Bank Crash Did Not Predict Real World Bank Crash

from the get-real,-people dept

MSNBC is running an article claiming that last year's virtual bank collapse in Second Life somehow foretold the current financial crisis. It makes for a good headline, but it's simply not true. The factors that resulted in the real world financial crash, as compared to the one in Second Life were entirely different. While there may have been some similarities (people not taking the time to understand the risk of certain investments) to compare the two is a pretty big stretch. From there, the article gets even worse, pretending that both financial crashes show that free markets don't work.

That's simply not true.

The eventual crash actually does show that free markets can work properly, punishing those who took risks without fully understanding the risks. The response in Second Life, to ban banks like the one that crashed, seems like the wrong way to go about things as well. Yes, many people were fooled, and ended up losing money, but that should help educate people not to blindly rush into putting money in a totally unregulated "bank" that made promises that were clearly beyond reasonable (40% interest?). Having regulations that prevent outright fraud (lying) seem reasonable, but banning all banks in response to such a poorly run one seems like going to far. The problem isn't just with the fact that it was an "unregulated free market." It was with the fact that people blindly believed that something too good to be true was legit.

Filed Under: bank crash, economy, free market, regulations, second life
Companies: linden lab

Reuters Bails On Second Life After Figuring Out It's Really Not That Interesting

from the if-a-tree-falls-in-a-forest... dept

One of the sillier attempts by businesses to look cool by setting up shop in Second Life was that of Reuters, which assigned a reporter to hang out in the virtual world full-time and report on it as if it were any other economy. While we noted at the time there might be some interesting stories in Second Life, that seemed to be taking a back seat to the publicity value of the stunt. It was surprising to learn that the Reuters reporter was still there until recently, when he finally gave up the beat, calling it "about as fun as watching paint dry." With 9 out of 10 efforts by businesses going into Second Life ending in failure, perhaps there wasn't much for a business reporter to cover any longer. For what it's worth, the reporter says Linden Labs should give up on the idea that Second Life is a business application -- not because of its shaky in-game economics, or because there's no value for there for most businesses, but because of technical problems. While those may be easier to solve for the company, they pale in comparison to the sheer pointlessness of real-world businesses establishing themselves in Second Life.

Filed Under: reporting, second life
Companies: linden lab, reuters

On Second Thought, Maybe Second Life Does Need A Bailout

from the will-some-VC-play-its-Ben-Bernanke dept

Just a week ago, we were laughing at Second Life's attempt to position its economy as being safe compared to the real economy. That seemed difficult to believe, as a variety of things have been conspiring against Second Life for quite some time, and much of its own economy was based on its own inflated hype-bubble that overstated how many users there were and misled companies concerning what people actually did in Second Life (hint: it wasn't visit virtual clothing stores). With that bubble rapidly deflating, it really was only a matter of time until the wider Second Life economy faced its own crisis, and apparently (despite claims to the contrary) that's manifesting itself in a real estate crash within Second Life. At least in the real world, the property is a physical thing that has some intrinsic value. We've pointed out in the past that betting your business model on an economy made up of virtual goods is quite dangerous, and it appears Second Life is discovering that fact pretty quickly.

Filed Under: economy, financial crisis, second life

Well, At Least Second Life Won't Need A Gov't Bailout

from the too-small-to-care dept

Remember a couple years ago, when you could hardly go a day without hearing some press story hyping up how the virtual world Second Life was the biggest thing since the internet itself? Those days went away pretty quickly once people noticed that the numbers Second Life was claiming weren't really representative of how many people were there, and all the brands that bought into the hype and jumped on the Second Life bandwagon started realizing that it didn't do much for them, as most of the folks in Second Life were there for the virtual sex and gambling, which the company has cracked down on.

However, apparently, there are still some folks using Second Life, and the company wants to let you know that as the financial crisis spreads around the world, the fundamentals of the economy in Second Life remain strong. Over the past few weeks, I've seen press announcements from plenty of tech companies trying to spin the financial crisis as a reason to write about their company, but this one might be the most ridiculous. It's not as if people are going to start moving money into Lindens any time soon as an investment vehicle.

Filed Under: economy, financial crisis, second life
Companies: linden lab

Getting A Record Deal Through Second Life?

from the connecting-with-fans dept

Ben writes in to point out an article from Wired News about a blues musician, Von Johin, who performs concerts in Second Life each week, which just helped him get a record deal. It's an interesting story -- and I have to admit that the gimmickyness of the story makes me wonder if the record label is being totally upfront about how they found and signed Johin. It's almost too good a story, especially given how many news stories we've seen over the years that simply played off Second Life as a hook. However, even if the story itself is a bit contrived, it does point to yet another way that musicians can better connect with true fans. These days, any way to better connect with fans is an important part of a business model, and while it's certainly not for everyone, holding concerts in Second Life is certainly one way to attract an audience.

Filed Under: music, record deal, second life, von johin

Shockingly, Businesses Who Set Up Shop In Second Life Because It's 'Cool' Don't Fare So Well

from the who-woulda-thunk-it? dept

Over the last year or so, it seems like the halo around Second Life has worn off, especially for all the big companies who rushed in, believing it was the next big thing. A new report now notes that approximately 90% of companies who rushed into virtual worlds saw their projects fail. Not surprisingly, most of the failed projects involved companies who got involved because they thought it was "cool" or because a competitor was there. Apparently, not having a real business purpose or strategy pretty much guarantees that you're not going to achieve very much of either.

Filed Under: businesses, second life, virtual worlds
Companies: linden lab

Congressman Freaks Out About Second Life; Demands Ban In Schools

from the fear!-save-the-children!-be-afraid! dept

Just a few months after worrying about terrorists hiding in Second Life, now at least one Congressional representative is worried about how Second Life is corrupting your children. He's trying to drum up support to ban Second Life from schools and libraries, hyping up the fact that "bad stuff" happens in Second Life and, gosh, we wouldn't want kids to learn how to deal with bad stuff in an environment where they're protected from any physical harm. It'll be much better when they learn to deal with it out on the streets.

This is actually an attempt by Rep. Mark Kirk to reintroduce DOPA, the Deleting Online Predators Act. It was last introduced almost exactly two years ago (note the timing: right before Congressional election season...). Because very few politicians want to give an opening to challengers to their seats to put out an ad saying they voted against "protecting the children" last time around the law was quickly approved by the House by a massive 410 to 15 vote, at which point it moved on to the Senate to die (not having all Senators up for re-election at the same time has its benefits). Of the 15 dissenters to the original bill, Rep. John Dingell was the one who said what needed to be said (and which so few other Reps were willing to say):

"So now we are on the floor with a piece of legislation poorly thought out, with an abundance of surprises, which carries with it that curious smell of partisanship and panic, but which is not going to address the problems. This is a piece of legislation which is going to be notorious for its ineffectiveness and, of course, for its political benefits to some of the members hereabout."

Yes, the law would effectively ban a ton of internet sites from schools and libraries, including ones like LinkedIn, Slashdot and Amazon.com, based on its overly broad language. On top of all that, study after study after study has shown that social networks and virtual worlds (despite the FUD) are not "breeding grounds" for predators. And, of course, parents are finally coming to terms with this and are no longer freaking out about kids using these sites. So, explain why we need such unnecessary and overly broad legislation again? Oh right, it's election season...

Filed Under: congress, dopa, mark kirk, protect the children, schools, second life, social networks