Last week, Ginsu Linden (aka Ginsu Yoon) announced he was stepping down as the Lindens' VP of Corporate Development. (He was previously the Lindens' head lawyer.) With Robin Harper gone last February, there are no remaining Linden executives in the company's day-to-day management who can trace their history with the Lab back before 2006. (Or for that matter, any that I know personally to any great degree.) Scarily smart and forward-thinking, Gene didn't have much interaction with the Second Life community, so I wanted to recount a story from his time as the Lindens' chief counsel: after a blogger named Darren Barefoot created a cheeky Second Life parody, Ginsu responded not with an angry cease-and-desist letter, but a tongue-in-cheek permit-and-continue post. "Linden Lab," he wrote on Barefoot's blog, "objects to any implication that it would employ lawyers incapable of distinguishing such obvious parody." One hopes that remains true now, with Ginsu Linden gone. Photo credit: Joi Ito, from his Flickr stream.
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I got to know of Ginsu's work through Ben Duranske's old blog Virtually Blind.
It was good stuff to follow along with, especially with the Bragg lawsuit.
My current question is, why let Ginsu go now, when there's the upcoming possible Worlds.com infringement situation.
Posted by: Doubledown Tandino | Monday, April 13, 2009 at 01:58 PM
I had the honor of quoting Ginsu in our book, ('The Unofficial Guide to Building Your Business in the Second Life® Virtual World'). I am sorry to hear he is leaving LL™ at a time when they may need his experience and expertise. His departure as one of the early LL™ leaders marks the end of an era. I sincerely wish him well.
Posted by: Nasus Dumart | Monday, April 13, 2009 at 05:16 PM
... then again, Nasus, the fact that you're adding "TM" to every mention of Linden Lab suggests other Linden lawyers have not been as reasonable as Gene. :)
Posted by: Hamlet Au | Monday, April 13, 2009 at 05:40 PM
That post was one of Linden Lab's finest hours, at least in the time since I've been in-world. He is definitely going to be missed.
Posted by: Nexus Burbclave | Monday, April 13, 2009 at 09:03 PM
THIS is why I think you are at the very heart of the SL community, Hamlet. I never knew Ginsu and, tbh, didn't even know he existed, but then you go and share this fond memory and homage to him and we are missing him already.
Posted by: Bettina Tizzy | Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 02:20 AM
Bettina.. I think that's Hamlet's point ... is he gonna be now? New guard on the watch now... let's hope they read the handover notes, and share at least some of the vision eh?
Posted by: Toxic Menges | Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 08:45 AM