What The Lawyers Learned When They Met In Second Life

Earlier this month, the American Bar Association held a conference on intellectual property law in Washington D.C., and virtual worlds played a significant part of the schedule. That included a simultaneous conference and reception in Second Life itself, broadcast at the ABA event, where lawyers could participate as avatars, (It was put together by the Second Life Bar Association and the Virtual Intellectual Property Organization.) I asked one of the co-hosts, Matthew Asbell (known in SL as Matheus Saramago) of Ladas & Parry, LLP, to tell me the key takeaways from the subsequent conversation, and he generously gave me seven. They're definitely worth thinking about, especially in light of the recent DMCA notice filed against SL fans of Frank Herbert's Dune franchise. Which of these points do you suppose will be the most crucial in the near future?

• Most content creators, performers, and other users don't understand the risks that they are violating other's IP rights in SL, and may even perceive the growing presence of IP attorneys as an attempt to shut down the virtual world.
• Most users wrongly believe they are anonymous and that their communications in world are private.
• Most content owners have yet to see/experience Second Life or other virtual worlds, have no idea of the extent of violations of their rights in the virtual world, and risk losing at least some of their rights by not enforcing them in the virtual world.
• Most attorneys have never seen/experienced Second Life.
• Virtual worlds are not separate jurisdictions with their own laws (at least not yet.)
• In view of the absence of confidentiality resulting from the SL Terms of Service, attorneys should not attempt to communicate legal advice to clients or to discuss matters with potential clients in-world.
• There are numerous potential copyright, trademark, privacy and other legal issues inherent in planning a mixed-reality event.

Images courtesy Matheus Saramago.

Comments

[Adric Antfarm]

Does that guitar playing hippie have heat strapped to their leg?

And left handed... My mom claims her folks tried to tie her left hand behind her back to cure that, but she also has crazy stories about some sort of world war and guy named Nelvis or something like that I don't buy either (they get to the age when things get all fuzzy).

Oh you left one out

* Most lawyers got major wood at the untapped stream of cash they saw from people ripping off IP and selling it on SL

[Deadpan]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say she's strapped on the Left so she can melee you with her guitar using her right hand. Or, i'm not looking too close but the handle may be configured for a cross-draw.

Yes. This comment is entirely relevant.

[Crap Mariner]

The "guitar-playing hippie" is, in fact, JueL Resistance.

And that's a book strapped to her leg. Click on it sometime.

-ls/cm

[Hamlet Au]

Yes, that's rocking Mz. Resistance.

[Loki Eliot]

whats the difference between having a fansite devoted to the dune books, and a fanSIM devoted to the dune books?

[Pyewacket Bellman]

Another leading economic indicator?

Wonder if their original career plans included scrounging for lindens? Tell 'em to put out a tip jar and get in back of the line.