As anyone who inhabits Second Life knows, the virtual world has its own fast growing economy. Without some sort of infrastructure regulating the way businesses are being run, Second Life will become a desert that people will not bother to come into. The majority of people that join Second Life like to make the most of their appearance. They may be ‘sweatshirt and jeans’ people in real life, but the virtual world opens up a whole new concept to them about how they would really like to look, some picking catwalk model clothes and others wanting to look like robots and dragons and many other themes, which add so much colour to Second Life.

Therefore, designers, the clever people who make this possible, are the most important asset that Lindens Labs could possibly have. When you think about it, everything in Second Life is created and designed by someone, from the clothes, to the architecture, to the everyday small things that we take for granted. That’s why it is astonishing to find out that these very same people, who make Second Life so enjoyable for all it’s inhabitants are experiencing theft of their creations and no one is doing anything to protect them. There are many designers in Second Life and I was privileged to meet one group who agreed to be interviewed. The emotions are running very high in respect of these thefts, as this is not only a business in Second Life for most of them, but it also gives them a living in the real world.

People that dismiss this as just a game have got it so wrong. To most business people ‘in world’ this is their lifestyle and helps them to survive in real life. The thefts, known as ‘Content Theft’ are becoming so widespread that action will have to be taken very soon, as many designers are getting so frustrated, that some are even quitting altogether. The people that commit these thefts are very well organised and have access to various methods that allow them to steal, either directly from the designers’ inventories or from the rezzed item itself. They make a copy, to either sell cheaply or give out freely, just to scorn the original creators. There is little that the designers can do in respect of recourse, they are told to submit an abuse report or fill out a DMCA (copyright infringement notification) to the Linden Labs, but this seems very ineffective. The alleged thieves, even if they are banned, simply return to Second Life as an alternative avatar and carry on where they left off. Some of the offenders are doing so well they have even bought their own sims to run their ‘so called’ business from. Many Landowners who rent out shop space are no better, as most of them are only concerned with collecting the rent and turn a blind eye to the type of business these people are running. The designers spend a great deal of time policing Second Life, tracking down their copied stock, in so doing, wasting precious time that could be used for designing new items, which in turn restricts their businesses even more.

The alleged thieves are generally so fearless, that they openly attack the designers by griefing and goading them without worrying about the consequences. So far Linden Labs have done very little to help, or offer any useful advice. The designers have the view that Linden Labs are only interested in making their money from Land and therefore are not worried about these thefts. Although it should be feasible to take these industrial thieves to court in the real world, it would prove problematical because of universal laws, as Second Life is made up of such a diverse population. Unfortunately for the Linden Labs, this is an ‘in World’ problem and if they don’t act soon, they will see designers deserting them in their droves, and who could blame them.

Can you imagine Second Life without shopping, well for the girls and most of the boys, this would be a disaster. The designers aren’t without friends, and one such good friend is Chez Nabob. Chez is launching a campaign this week to bring this content theft to everyone’s attention. Hopefully this will bring other designers together to lobby the Lindens for more help, as well as making everyday avatars aware that they may be buying stolen goods. At the present Chez is distributing the campaign ads through the creator-focused groups. You can find out more at http://shop.onrez.com/item/533825.
Submitted by Janey Bracken