Dwell On It » Law

A landmark ruling

Tateru Nino — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:57:32 +0000

Something just happened. Something important.

On Tuesday, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that when two boys forced a third (by violence) to give them two of his Runescape items, that it was theft.

Now, you might think that that is a landmark ruling for digital goods as lawful property. It isn’t. Well, it is, but it isn’t in the way that you might think. It’s far more interesting than that.

Copyright is for everybody

Tateru Nino — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:34:41 +0000

Copyright is an interesting beastie, and a very necessary one. Without Copyright law, most open source licences and Creative Commons licenses would be worthless. Copyright is enshrined in the United States constitution, offering a limited-time protection on works to everybody. That includes folks like you and me who don’t have works worth hundred of millions of dollars, and who might not have the ability to mount a lawsuit.

Copyright is for everybody, even if your means are scant and your works only commercially worth a few cents. That’s why the United States Copyright office wants to hear from you, as a part of a congressional enquiry into remedies for Copyright small claims.

Sony insists on the right to be irresponsible and negligent without legal penalty

Tateru Nino — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:06:58 +0000

Sony was recently – and quite rightly – subject to lawsuits from its Playstation Network users for an almost unprecedented level of negligence with customer data.

Now Sony has been scrambling to improve its PSN security, but the recent changes in the PSN terms of service make it seem as if it doesn’t really give a damn about it.


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Spin Magazine wants to snatch a user’s twitter handle due to a coincidence of names

Tateru Nino — Thu, 26 May 2011 01:05:44 +0000

Eric Rice (whom you may also know better as Spin Martin) has gotten a cease-and-desist letter from Spin Magazine insisting that he give up his twitter name.

At issue is Rice’s twitter handle @spin. Spin Magazine (twitter handle: @spinmagazine) apparently feels that this is a case of trademark infringement. That is that their trademark and their ‘good’ name is being harmed by this, on the apparent basis that their readers just aren’t very smart.

Seriously.


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What happens to payment info after it has been compromised?

Tateru Nino — Thu, 05 May 2011 17:53:38 +0000

So, you read about it a lot. Security breaches that ‘may’ have compromised the credit-card or other payment information of a lot of people.

Notice how people never say that payment information has been compromised. Only that it may have been.

So, what good does the information do for the villain? How do they get the money from the people whose information was compromised? Well, that’s where you come in.

Who are the criminals?

Tateru Nino — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:49:16 +0000

The word ‘criminal’ gets used a whole heck of a lot. In its strictest and most correct terms in these modern days, a criminal is someone who has both violated the criminal code in their jurisdiction, and been duly convicted.


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Catholic priest interferes with electoral egalitarianism

Tateru Nino — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 06:47:20 +0000

In the New South Wales election this weekend, a Catholic priest perverted electoral procedure. It’s something that cannot be left to stand.

Mailbag: How can I copyright my Second Life work?

Tateru Nino — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:39:34 +0000

The electronic mailbag continues to be stuffed to overflowing, but I figured I would respond to this particular one in a post of its own, since Copyright – while it is ubiquitous, touching almost every point of our lives – continues to be poorly understood.

I’m trying to create a small store to sell sculpted Jewellery in Second Life.. but I’m worried about content theft as anyone… and so, I noticed a post from yours on the internet called “Property, Second Life, backups and you” explaining some basic topics about this, .. and I become very interested in the matter, now my straight question… Do you know how can I copyright my sculpties? I have noticed several businesses saying their creations have some sort of “copyright”, I want to copyright several sculpties of my own creation, sculpties that I can use as components to create several products, please I need advice in this matter ^^ Thank you very much.


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Enemy of the State

Tateru Nino — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 06:06:31 +0000

The chair of the US House Committee on Homeland Security, Peter King, has called to place journalist Julian Assange, editor-in-chief of Wikileaks on a US enemies list. US citizens and treaty nation partners of the USA are forbidden to aid or associate with individuals named on that list.

I rather think he’d better add the editors-in-chief of the New York Times, and the Washington Post – and almost every other newspaper to that list, because they’re all essentially doing (and have always done) the same thing as Assange’s Wikileaks – that is, publishing information that has been leaked by US government officials.

The only differences are that Wikileaks offered US departments the opportunity to redact some of that information – an opportunity not normally granted by publishers, but which the US Government declined – and that major newspapers are rather wishing that they were the ones being leaked to first.

Update on Amaretto vs Ozimals case

Tateru Nino — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 05:04:26 +0000

I don’t have access to all of the documents filed… yet, but I’ll update you on what I know so far.


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Court grants Amaretto temporary restraining order against Linden Lab

Tateru Nino — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 01:35:07 +0000

Amaretto Ranch Breedables has obtained a temporary restraining order against Linden Lab as the next step in its legal battle with rival virtual animal manufacturer, Ozimals – pending a bond payment. A preliminary hearing date has been set for next month.

Ozimals responds with statement on Amaretto copyright case

Tateru Nino — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 02:13:31 +0000

Ozimals’ owner Candy Cerveau has responded with a statement on the Ozimals blog about the today’s news of the copyright dispute between Ozimals and Amaretto Ranch Breedables, and has included a copy of the cease-and-desist letter that was sent to Amaretto (PDF format).

Ozimals, Amaretto in Second Life copyright dispute. Amaretto filing federal lawsuit.

Tateru Nino — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:52:29 +0000

Odds are you’ve heard of Ozimals if you’re involved with Second Life at all. They make all those breedable bunnies that you see around.

Well, there’s another company in the same field: Amaretto Ranch Breedables. They do horses and the like.

A dispute between the two is heading for the US Federal courts.


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Both unjust and unfair

Tateru Nino — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:31:09 +0000

Today was to be the announcement of an Australian R18+ rating for games – or lack thereof. Today it is a lack, because unanimity is required, and one State Attorney General held back.

If we accept that a ratings system for films, television and suchlike are necessary to protect children, then it is likewise necessary to have parity by applying the same ratings categories to games. The average age of gamers is now 35 – the same average age as that of film-goers.

Every month a number games that would rightly earn an R18+ rating (if one were available) and be restricted from sale to minors are instead categorised as MA15+ and permitted to be sold to under-18s.

Mighty lawsuits from little amendments grow

Tateru Nino — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 08:49:03 +0000

Historically, in the USA (and some other countries), clothing was exempt from the protections afforded by copyright as it was considered “an article of use”. Being that we’re bilaterally symmetrical bipeds, there’s not so many possibilities to create clothing that doesn’t strongly resemble other clothing. Actual clothing patterns could be copyrighted, as well as photographs and other images of clothing, but the basic designs themselves were exempt.

That all could suddenly change overnight now.

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation lawyers reverse position, cease-and-desist on previously approved Second Life content

Tateru Nino — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 01:43:57 +0000

So, the lawyers of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation have sent cease-and-desist notices the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum in Second Life, which seems contrary to the foundation’s declared mission to “provide opportunities for the public to learn about the principle ideas embodied in his work; increase public awareness of the importance of architecture to society and the individual; and stimulate a demand for excellence in architecture and design.”


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A dollar you can’t refuse

Tateru Nino — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:54:09 +0000

What’s the difference between a ‘real’ currency and a ‘virtual’ currency?

The answer is: None at all. There’s only currency that is or is not legal tender.


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Derived works and franchises

Tateru Nino — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 06:51:08 +0000

Ever wonder why publishers – when they are talking about games, television programmes, movies and such – refer to them as “franchises”?

What it boils down to is copyright and derived works.


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Battlestar Galactica content axed in Second Life

Tateru Nino — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 02:36:20 +0000

Universal Studios has filed infringement notices to Linden Lab, over user-generated content relating to its Battlestar Galactica properties – one of several very successful role-playing themes in Second Life.


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Zynga moves to patent a large chunk of virtual currencies

Tateru Nino — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:20:09 +0000

Zynga and Zynga’s CEO, Mark Pincus, are – in my experience – not spoken of very highly at all.

It comes as no surprise to me, therefore, that Zynga has submitted a patent application that covers virtual currencies of the sort used in a variety of casual and free-to-play MMO games.


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