FASHION VICTIM? (Updated)

Mistress Midnight, 2005 file screenshot

Where exactly do the IP rights of avatars legally end and morally begin?  A recent Second Life Insider story provokes that question, taken from a conflict within SL's often viciously competitive fashion industry.  In brief, it begins when acclaimed fashionista Mistress Midnight buys and alters a custom skin created by another designer, but solely for her own personal use.  This leads to acrimony and accusation from the aggrieved designer and a couple of her colleagues, and a fascinating (if painful to read) conversation ensues, ultimately revolving around the meaning of ownership in a virtual world.  Sometime NWN contributor Aimee Weber has the entire story, appropriately entitled, "SL Fashion, Personal Modifications, and Of Course, Drama".  As someone who knows, likes, and admires most of the Residents involved, I have to hope the drama part of the thing subsides, soothed by the realization that the underlying issues are complex and as yet unresolved.

Update, 9/9, 3:11pm:  Bumping this post up, as the story continues to metastasize, and, unfortunately, claim victims.  Widely admired and beloved fashion designer Torrid Midnight (featured in NWN here, here, and in passing here), who was accused along with her business partner Mistress of "ripping" skins, was caught up in this controversy, and after a truly ugly comment was reportedly (and anonymously) directed at her, has indefinitely withdrawn from Second Life altogether.   

Aimee Weber has a paen to her departed colleague here, Akela Talamasca (also of the SL Insider) has an even angrier response here.

Triste Bertrand has a summary of the story thus far here, along with some thoughts on its relation to "fair use" in copyright law.

A somewhat differing view to the conflict is available on Pixel Pin Up's Forum here.

Finally in this blogosphere wrap-up, there's an appraisal of the conflict in SL Exporer News, which includes a side-by-side comparison of the original and modified skin in question.  For what it's worth, I join the author in failing to see any substantial, glaring differences in Mistress Midnight's version of the altered skin from the neck down.

For myself, I should add this:  in conversations about SL-based IP rights up to now, it's often been assumed that social pressure was the first line of defense in protecting Residents' creations.  Go around blatantly copying and reselling the avatar fashion designs of others, this line of reasoning went, and word would get around the Second Life community, and after enough approbation, the culprit would soon find themself out of business.  This still seems to be true, in most cases, but it doesn't cover controversies like these, where definitions of "theft" and "fair use" are in serious dispute, and some of the parties involved are among the most well-reputed content creators. 

Nor, unfortunately, does it factor in how much damage a few choice vicious words can do.

Comments

[Crissa]

I can't imagine not retaining my purchases when I need to alter them to my own personal use.

I paid for them because I liked them! I kept them because I liked them!

Isn't retaining textures flattery?

Aside from that, isn't it within fair use to personally alter textures you have purchased?

Is it legal to limit this use, or expect it to be limited?

Is it even possible to limit this use? To display an image, it must be decoded, so it must exist on the end users' hardware, whatever that may be. Should artists demand control over that hardware?

[Tomas Hausdorff]

There has been some significant fall out from the drama aspect of this. Personal attacks have led to the departure of Torrid Midnight from Second Life.

I can't wrap my head around what would drive people to lose themselves so completely in a disagreement over something seemingly so minor that they would hurt each other this way.

I really feel for Torrid, and I think her departure has diminished Second Life.

[Amby]

This has become so one sided its unbelievable.Have any of you bothered to read the original posts?Both of the original posts ?From beginning to end .If not please do so. Read every post from beginning to end .If you still believe this was some awful way to destroy Torrid ,then Ill understand.

And lets not forget ,Lost also played a role in Relay for Life.He is also a good person,he also has feelings.

[Elle Pollack]

The drama aside? I recently convinced myself to do pretty much the same thing Torrid did to her skin, which was rip mine, remove the heavy dark eyeliner from the face that had allways bugged me and reupload it. Said skin is never going to leave my posession, even though the creator's name no longer appears in SL's "Find" listing. (I think it fits the spirt if not the leter of the law, as the perms on the skins were copy/*mod*/no transfer). As an artist in training, someday I'll produce a skin of my own that I like and use that instead, but this was more of a quick fix. I don't have a high stakes reputation riding on my SL name, so let the flames fly if it comes to that, but I do continue to sleep at night.

Skins are a tough market. Finding something you like that gets every little detail as you want it without spending huge amounts on a full custom skin is an unlikely possability. Sure the level of quality may be very high, but it can't easily be modified for personal preference; the tone might be off, or it has makeup you don't like or you have a tatoo you want to use. I bought the skin I have because it solves one of those problems; it's a translucent overlay with shading so I can create the skin tone I want and some charactaristic detils like my freckles with the sliders. If LL would go ahead and add some extra texture layers to the AV (a long-desired feature that they've adknowleged but don't seem to have in the current pipeline) a lot of these difficulties would be eased but wishing doesn't make it so nor help the Midnights' predicument. (I would defend their act of editing their skins for the reasons noted above but cannot vouch, good or bad, for anyone's conduct beyond that that brought about the ensuing drama).

[farfromfic]

I think the three designers in questions learned a very hard and very important lesson here. That being, "Don't F*ck with the FIC". The resulting smear campaign will be vast and brutal.

[Aliasi Stonebender]

It's a hell of a thing. Indeed, for all intents and purposes making a 'tattoo' undershirt/pants does exactly the same thing, thanks to SL's texture-baking. There is no discernable difference in the end product. The head is the exception because there are no clothing items to cover the head, and this is a silly UI limitation, not a technical one.

So... while I'll refrain from commenting on the specifics of this case, given it's very he said/she said at this point, I fail to see the problem with 'ethical' texture-ripping (buy the skin, rip it, make whatever modifications you need, reupload and do not distribute) as this is the sort of thing that is entirely within fair use in most other situations.

[icon]

Trusting Secondlife

I created a spin-off post hoping to enlighten us all around the issues of fair use. I hope it will lead to a further post where I might interview a lawyer or law student on the subject of fair use and derivative works. Maybe we can get some real insight into the issue at the core of this problem.

As for how I feel about what's happened...

Torrid isn't some drama queen looking for attention with this post. Whoever caused this situation seems unbelievably inconsiderate and immature. Perhaps they just have a tenuous grasp of reality -- whatever the case, they've caused undue harm.