Philip Brooks:
I have been following the virtual world of Linden Lab’s Second Life from the real world. I think it has some fascinating implications for our lives beyond the fun gamers derive from participating. Some have noted it as a valuable resource for some autistic people because it offers a way for them to explore interaction in an environment that is safe. In addition, people are able to trade and sell virtual assets within Second Life and some of these have spilled over into disputes in the real world.
Thomas Claburn at InformationWeek discusses one such dispute in this week’s print issue in an article titled, ‘Property Rights Are No Game.‘ He writes:
Virtual real estate entrepreneur Ailin Graef recently announced that her Second Life avatar Anshe Chung had become the 1st online personality with a net worth of more than $1 million. But Graef may be living in a fantasy world.
Linden Lab, the company that created Second Life, explicitly states that Second Life residents do not own their accounts or any data on SL servers. ‘Linden Lab retains ownership of the account and related data, regardless of intellectual property rights you may have in content you create or otherwise own,’ the company’s Terms of Service agreement says.
Yet Linden Lab sells the idea of ownership on its site: ‘Become a part of history by purchasing land and developing your own piece of Second Life,’ the site says. ‘The Pricing and Fees are simple; you pay $9.95 a month plus a Land Use Fee proportional to the amount of land you own.’
‘The land itself and the space and everything is owned, controlled, and built by the people’ in SL, Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale said in a July interview for the AfterTV podcast.
What do cyberproperty magnates really own? That depends. ‘Some online assets, like domain names, are recognized as legal property by case law and statutes,’ says Rutgers law professor F. Gregory Lastowka. ‘The legal status of other online assets, like the virtual property in online worlds, is less clear.’
A lawsuit filed last May in Pennsylvania aims to clarify the legal status of virtual land. Second Life resident Marc Bragg is suing Linden Lab and Rosedale for breach of a virtual land auction contract, fraud, and violations of Pennsylvania trade practice and consumer protection laws.
Whichever way the judge rules in Bragg’s case, Linden Lab stands to lose. If Linden’s property seizure is allowed, the value of online land may fall and subscribers may come to resent that virtual ownership means sharecropping in reality. If Linden Lab loses, then all the gaming companies dabbling in virtual world commerce - including Microsoft and Sony - are going to have to re-evaluate where their control of their entertainment properties ends and consumer rights begin.
Real estate now, can disputes over virtual patents on technology exploits within Second Life be far behind? What are your thoughts?
Enjoy the holidays in your real world!
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