Six top Second Life content creators discover their items copied and resold by a single Resident, Rase Kenzo-- in October, they file suit against him in New York. This month, a settlement of $525 is reached, far less than what the plaintiffs were asking, but the agreement includes reference to "merchandise". If the presiding Judge, the Honorable Sandra Townes of the Eastern District of New York, enters the consent judgment as worded, notes SL-based lawyer Benjamin Duranske, "the judgment will stand as the first formal, if tentative, recognition of virtual property by a U.S. court."
That's supposed to happen (or not) in the next few days. This would be, of course, a revolutionary precedent. Ironically, the person who seems least aware of this is the person who provoked it: “I made US$525 playing a video game," Kenzo tells Reuters, "so I now I break even, it’s not the end of the world.”
When I buy a song from iTunes, a 3D model from TurboSquid, or a digital photo from iStockphoto, am I not buying "virtual property" (a file plus a license)? I don't get it --- what makes something "virtual"?
Posted by: Troy McLuhan | Wednesday, December 05, 2007 at 10:42 AM