There was another Zoom Call with Linden Lab yesterday. This one was a little different though, since it wasn’t just the Blogger Network this time, it was Creators as well (90+ attendees). What’s so big that they want to tell all of us at once? Well, Content Protection apparetly:
This call will bring together bloggers and creators to focus on a crucial topic for the Second Life community: content protection. Protecting the integrity of creator work is at the heart of our platform, and we want to share updates and gather your feedback on this important issue. This session will focus on our commitment to and actions in protecting creator content in Second Life, including legal enforcement efforts, advancements in tools and processes, and our ongoing collaboration with the creator community. While challenges remain, we are dedicated to transparency, continuous improvement, and working together to shape a safer, more supportive environment for creators.
(quoted from invitation email)
What does it mean?
Well it means, lookout copybotters and other content thieves. The below doesn’t just apply to objects like mesh clothes or bodies, it’s any content such as animations that are included as well.
In the past Linden Lab hasn’t pursued instances of content theft, beyond a stern letter and a DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) takedown order. Which obviously isn’t much of a deterrent.
That’s about to change. Dramatically.
From now on, if you’re found to be creating copies of other creators’ items, you won’t just get asked to take it down. Your Account will be Shut Down. You may have a store with a thousand items that you genuinely made yourself, it won’t matter. It will ALL go. That DMCA letter will be accompanied by a Cease & Desist. Meaning you will now incur liability for anything you do after that date.
They’re going even further though. If you are teaching people how to illegally copy Second Life content, the Lab will be after you too.
If you’re one such fraudster you’re probably thinking “I’ll just create another account”. But did you cash out some of those ill-gotten gains with any of your avatars? In which case the Lab knows your legal identity (required to process the transaction) and will go after the Individual person, not just the Avatar.
Here’s the contentious part of their change of approach; If you knowingly buy copied stuff (to maybe save a few L$) you could be in trouble too, potentially losing your account.
So the key points here are:
- Linden Lab will now consider such practices as theft from the original creator and act accordingly
- If people are creating, teaching others to, or buying copied content the Lab will be after them.
- Account and all content will be deleted, even any legally created stuff.
- Focus on the legal individual, not just the avatar account.
- Action will be taken against websites hosting any copied content
- If you upload Second Life content that you didn’t create, to another platform or game, you’re accountable not the platform and will be legally pursued
- There will be a new category of support ticket added for reporting alleged instances of content theft
- Open Source viewer doesn’t mean an Open platform
- Action will have an “Immediate and Chilling effect” (Philip Rosedale)
- Action from the Lab will be “egregious*, don’t be the one I find first” (Brad Oberwager)
*Extremely bad in a way that is noticeable
How are they going to know? Well if I told you their intended methods, they wouldn’t work.
Of course these things are complicated and there could be issues, but the key point for content thieves is this:
THE LAB IS NOW ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR YOU.