When Philip Linden spoke of using fewer people to do less, it seems that one of those areas was the removal of content that has had a DMCA filed against it.
Maxwell Graf, the creator of some of the most beautiful content in Second Life will today be deleting LagNMoor, one of his two gorgeous sims, not so much in protest as in weary resignation that Linden Lab seem unable to protect his intellectual property rights.
Some weeks ago, customers started approaching him to warn that his builds were appearing on a series of dark, Gothic and vampiric sites, without his name attached. Max, who uses CDS – which detects the viewers of visits to the sims (and will reject them if the viewers are the kind commonly used for gouging content), discovered that the ‘owner’ of these copies was using NeilLife, one of the most notorious of these viewers, and one which should have been banned from accessing the grid at all under Linden Lab’s new Third Party Viewer policy.
What was worse, he discovered that not only was the avatar using the gouged content – he was actually putting it in a vendor and selling it as his own work.
Maxwell filed a DMCA (a filing under the Deigital Millenium Copyright Act, explaining that his intellectual property rights had been violated) and an abuse report. And waited.
When a content creator files an abuse report, the offending content should be taken down immediately. Not just removed from the grid, but removed from the person’s inventory too. XStreet boxes that contain it have, in the past, also been removed. At this point, the person accused may choose to file an appeal. At this point the complainant is notified and they have the option of taking it to the real world, hiring a lawyer who will prosecute the case in court. One of the disadvantages of using the DMCA to protect content creators is that it is a sledgehammer cracking a nut. It was designed for large corporations to protects their large scale resource. It wasn’t designed for these small scale infringements involving small businesses. This is definitely not to belittle what Max does. He puts months of work into creating houses like his new Carriage House, built with amazing style and detail.
And stolen of course, in a few seconds.
So .. Max filed his DMCA, and waited. The Lab is meant to respond promptly to such filings, but it was four days and a follow up email before Max had a response that it was being dealt with. Fiinally, after nearly a week, he heard that the content had been removed.
The avatars were not banned.
And when Max went over to the sims to check … all his content was still there, still set out for sale. Either nothing had happened (the removals team having been affected by the lay offs) or the those responsible for the initial violation had the content saved off the grid and simply re-uploaded it, and continued their illegal practice.
What will be the result? The grid will lose a beautiful location and some fabulous high end content will be removed. The Lab will lose the revenue from one sim – perhaps a small drop in the bucket. But a significant one.
For a time, with the content management roadmap and the banning of third party viewers that refused to comply with Linden conditions, it actually seemed as though we might be getting somewhere in protecting content creators. But we are back to same old, same old. The Lab makes policy, and then doesn’t quite implement it. The content creators, desperate for some protection and some respite from the appalling whack-a-mole game they are forced to play over and over again, turn to private solutions managed by commercial sources – which cannot give the robust protection that content creators need from the grid.
It was last October and November that we invivted residents to join our campaign and StepUp! This time – I’m asking Linden Lab to StepUp! and keep their promises … before the content creators who make Second Life the amazing place that it is … simply shrug their shoulders and step away.
You can read Max’s post on this here: http://rusticahomefurnishings.blogspot.com/2010/06/rustica-deleting-lagnmoor-sim-due-to.html
Prim Perfect 
I have always admired Maxwell’s work, he is a genuine contributor to the SL experience. I am very saddened to hear this news.
While I sympathize, having your stuff stolen is an irrevocable part of SL. I’ve had countless builds ripped off and even more ideas “borrowed” by other builders.
Realistically it’s just like with the rest of the internet, there is just no way to regulate content and IP, and there never will be.. that era is over.
True artists understand this and it doesn’t stop them from expressing their creativity and using their talents; in truth we are all just stealing ideas from other ages, and it’s only ego that allows us to delude ourselves into thinking otherwise.
Neotoy…. I can’t even begin to know how to express my disagreement with you.
While the old saying ‘there is nothing new under the sun’ has some meaning, it does not excuse theft. The idea of transportation isn’t new either, but just try stealing my car….
I understand that this *happens*. I will never understand accepting it as *acceptable*. Never. To do so is contrary to everything I believe about creativity, personal responsibility, respect for others and my little shreds of hope that there is still good in all of us.
Neotoy, I echo what Ceejay has said here. I find your attitude toward this theft to be so cynical. Certainly, artists’ works are copied and sold, and in many cases it amounts to outright theft. We have the law to protect people from thieves and to punish them accordingly. In this case, the law failed the law-abiding citizen and smacked the victim in the face in doing so. To brush it off as you have seems callous to me.
Digital music, digital movies, and digital 3D models can all be copied easily and perfectly (if not legally), so you’d think that all the creators would have stopped creating by now. Yet they haven’t. I wonder why not.
Troy – in the cases you cite, the intellectual property rights belong to or are protected by large corporations who have the power to go after infringers hard. And they do.
But with Second Life creators you have small scale business operations that have limited power to pursue theft. Mom and Pop stores. People using the Lindens to pay a few real life bills.
A new CD by Cold Play is ripped off. The new Peter Jackson movie is pirated. Chris Martin and Peter Jackson are insulated from the theft by the companies that surround them. They have every encouragement to go on creating.
But when a creator finds his or her stolen trees in a hundred different locations, or Maxwell finds the houses he works on for months stuffed in a thief’s vendor, there is no-one there to lay a protective hand on their shoulder and say, “Hey dude. We’ve got it covered. Let us worry about this. You worry about creating the next one.”
Instead they are told to join the game of whack-a-mole and start filing individual DMCAs with proof of theft every time and FAX it to Linden Lab (gotta love that modern technology). And then … wait …
So quite sneering at creatives who get discouraged by the odds stacked against them and reserve your sarcasm and scorn for the thieves that are breaking them.
I think discussion of L$ is only part of the problem of theft, actually.
It is the lack of recognition for the artist’s accomplishment, the disrespect for their rights, the cavalier attitude to ward their dignity, the sense of violation and creeping “why bother” resignation that erodes the spirit of an artist. It can ultimately sow the seeds of discontentment to the degree that they walk away.
Why do people create? Not necessarily to earn L$. They may intrinsically enjoy creating for it’s own sake, but few can fail to be discouraged when the lazy and dishonest view their creation as a commodity like grain, rather than give it it’s due.
Is Peter Jackson insulated? Insulated, perhaps, from the blatant affront of encountering theft of his goods up close and personal – which may serve to preserve motivation more than than the enforcement mechanisms his producers employ.
Here’s an interesting vid on motivation as it relates to cognitive tasks – enjoy.
This is so frustrating and unnecessary. It’s not that there is no way of battling the problem of content theft. It’s that the methods are not being employed and the rules are not being enforced.
I wish Max didn’t feel this is necessary. But I respect the fact that he does.
I am sputtering unprintable words.
This makes me ill. Maxwell’s things are so beautiful, and it has been sickening to keep reading that his things are showing up on sims all over the place.
It saddens me to see some of the best creatives abandon SL, but it doesn’t surprise me. What does suprise and make me very happy is to see those same people who have been beat down by theft, continue to bring their creativity here in spite of the lack of IP protection.
Why do some keep on creating after being repeatedly ripped off? I think that video Raven posted partly answers that.
Now, thinking of motivation in terms of our “Timeline” exhibit… would I have been as motivated to complete it if someone was writing me a check? I doubt it. Just seeing it come to completion and hearing positive comments, that is what makes it worthwhile.
I wasn’t sneering at anyone, I was just pointing out that despite the rampant and seemingly-unstoppable infringement of copyright going on around the world, creative people continue to create (and many of them seem to do so even though many of the people enjoying it never paid for that privilege, because they got a free copy somewhere).
In other words, I was offering a ray of hope among all the doom and gloom: If other creative people can make it work, then so can you.
Here are some clues:
1. People will pay / tip to hear live music in Second Life because the live experience is better than the experience of listening to a ripped track from a music-sharing site. People like getting feedback from the musician in real time. People like to dance and chat with their friends in real time, while the music plays. Also, the musician might be a friend who they want to support.
2. The 7Seas Fishing Game continues to spread all over the grid. People could copy their fish and distribute them freely, but you don’t get any points on the official, central scoreboard for copying a fish, so people have an incentive to play the official game.
3. Magazines like Prim Perfect and Second Style are amazing pieces of art and a real blessing for SL residents. Those magazines are paid for by advertising, so they don’t care if people copy their work and send it to friends – they’re happy when that happens: more people see the ads!
4. People who make custom houses or custom anything get paid for doing the initial design and construction. They don’t care if people copy it after that, because they’ve already gotten all the payment they were ever expecting.
Troy, I hope that your kidding on point #4.
I think as an answer to that, I would direct you to this post, Troy – where Gospel Voom’s custom build was ripped off in OpenSim: https://primperfectblog.wordpress.com/2009/02/06/trust-revisited-content-creation-theft-and-open-source-grids/
You can also see it discussed on Meta Makeover, pre-cursor to Designing Worlds: http://treet.tv/shows/designingworlds/episodes/ep035
Believe me, the creators care, whether it was a custom build or something they have produced for the mass market.
The thieves don’t mind either way.
Why have artists not stopped creating? Creating is a part of who they are, they can no more stop that then an athlete can stop running or playing ball. Its in their genes & it is what makes their heart’s beat. However, you would be very naive to think that artists will forever take the abuse they take in SL with no consequences. I keep hearing more & more from friends & creators that the desire to make new things for SL has deserted them. Oh they won’t stop creating… they will eventually (and many have already) move on & create in another way, another place. How many other artists will be keen to take their places when they are hearing of the blatant theft in SL?
I find even more discouraging the attitude that copying & selling someone else’s skills & hard work isn’t considered theft by some people. Or that it is ‘ego’ when an artist complains that their work has been stolen! Or even the idea that no artist is worth their salt if they want to be compensated for their time & skill! By golly, they should give it away free! Who cares if they have a real life with bills & have to eat! PROVE your love & dedication by starving, please!
We all know its impossible to prevent all theft, but that doesn’t mean we should give up and not try, and there are some pretty basic things that LL could do to help the situation and, instead, have blatantly not done so. Now another top-notch creator leaves while the thieves inherit SL and thrive. What a sad world SL has become when it had so much promise!
My sincere sympathy, Max; I’ve always admired your work and you certainly don’t deserve this!
The point is, it is the creators decision whether or not to give it away. I’ve given a lot of work away in groups and to friends, and even done some custom work at no charge. My decision to do this does not imply that it is worth-less, nor does it mean I want someone to make a copy and claim credit for it.
Gonna Mis Max.. Incredible builder creator and a really nice guy. Its a shame for Sl to loose him.
Max isn’t gone. He’s deleting LagNMoor, but he’s keeping Rustica,
I wasn’t kidding about point 4. If I contract an architect to design and build a house for me in Second Life, say for $2000 US dollars, then they get their money and don’t expect to get any more after that. They really don’t care if someone copies it and puts it on OpenSim because they *already* got paid.
In fact, someone might ask their friend in OpenSim, “Hey where’d you get that house it looks awesome!” and the friend would say they stole it from Second Life where it was designed by Johniie Ismitch. Then they contact Johniie Ismitch to make a custom house for them in OpenSim (and they don’t care if someone copies it).
Here’s another, bonus clue:
5. People will pay more for the official item even if they know they can get a perfect copy elsewhere for free. This is why Microsoft can sell Windows even though it’s easy to find it for free online. It’s also why the original sculptures of Starax Statosky (in SL) are really valuable, even though there are lots of copies floating around.
Linden Lab didn’t have to add the modify/copy/trans permissions into Second Life, but they did, so obviously they do want to give people tools to help enforce rights management.
Responding to, and enforcing the DMCA is very time-consuming, and time costs money (salary for employees). Linden Lab has to verify every claim. What if the claimant is lying and they are, in fact, a thief saying that the original artist stole the work from *them*? What is Linden Lab supposed to do, hire 100 DMCA claims staff? Those costs will just get passed on to you.
In summary, yes, copyright infringement is bad and people should stop, but some people don’t give a darn, and won’t stop. I’m not going to try and change human nature and I’m not going to waste my time wringing my hands and crying foul at Linden Lab. Instead, I’m going to think about how to do business *despite* the fact that some of my stuff will get copied for free.
Troy, I honestly don’t think you can extrapolate what ‘they’ feel from your hypothetical example. I am sure some architects do feel that way. I pointed out that others don’t – and I cited an example.
And, to be honest, I think any creator who was approached with the line, “Hey – I saw a copybotted version of your chaise longue on OpenSim and I thought I just have to get me a complete living room suite by the guy!” may feel a little ambivalent about the prospective client. But, you know, I may be wrong. Perhaps some of the content creators who’ve commented here would like to share their thoughts,
As for your examples 1), 2) and 3) – they are totally different business models. Yes, for the magazine, wide distribution of free copies is important. It’s why we have an inworld subscriber mechanism, and why we encourage group owners to push it out that way too. But I honestly cannot think of any way that the maker of furniture would thrive by adopting that model. They have no advertisers who will be thrilled to know that this chair has been copybotted over 20,000 times.
With 5) you are bringing the argument to high end art. I think, sadly, that there’s a difference between people being willing to pay for a genuine Starax sculpture and a genuine dining table. But I may be wrong.
As for enforcing DMCAs, Linden Lab is legally obligated to respond to each and every one in a timely fashion. If they work with content creators to protect against IP violations, then fewer DMCAs will be filed. And two key steps in doing that would be
1) Enforce their own TPV policy
2) Follow their own content management roadmap.
Yet another great sim bites the dust. I’m so very sorry to read about Max’s experiences. He’s a fabulous creator who enriches our virtual world, but the flip side of that is it makes him a high-value target for thieves.
In their headlong rush to make Second Life ‘Facebook friendly’ and pander to that demographic, Linden Lab have seemingly shelved their commitment to protecting the very people that have made it so unique and it doesn’t take a genius to work out where this will ultimately lead.
Gos.
I’m a content creator — my company produces editorial content (Hypergrid Business being just one of our products). Some of content is custom-produced.
Sometimes, we sell content on a work-for-hire or all-rights basis. That means that the customer takes over all the rights to the work. From then on, it’s the customer’s responsibility to protect the copyright that they acquired.
In virtual world terms, if we designed a custom corporate headquarters for someone and sold all rights, and the company’s rivals showed up and stole it, it’s up to the company to defend it. If Coca-Cola hires a designer to create a new logo, and Pepsi rips off the logo, then Coca-Cola chases Pepsi down, not the designer.
If the designer gets annoyed, they should be annoyed on behalf of the client who’s suffering. The designer, as Troy pointed out, has already been paid — their job is done.
If you retain the copyright to your content, then you have to enforce this copyright. That means keeping an eye on the top distribution channels out there, and filing notices when your copyright is violated. You don’t have to stop 100% of the violations. You just can’t. And you can’t let it get to you — you’ll go crazy. Successful artists, I think, learn to stop worrying about it, or worry about it to a manageable extent.
Instead, you allocate a reasonable amount of time (or money, if you have more money than time) to protecting your copyrights. This means regularly filing takedown notices, and putting grid owners (whether Linden Lab or OpenLifeGrid or OSGrid or anyone else) on alert if there’s a problem, and being consistent about following up. It’s just part of the job of being a content producer.
Finally, it helps if you take a step back. Take a deep breath. Remember that you weren’t personally hurt. Your pride is only hurt if you let it get hurt.
The person hurt the most by the crime is actually the thief himself. Think about it. The thief has made himself liable for criminal or civil prosecution. With each new theft, the likelihood of getting caught, and punished, keeps going up. One court case or criminal conviction can destroy his career or any political prospects he might have. That’s an overhanging sword he’ll be living with for the rest of his life. He might not care now, especially if he’s some 12-year-old getting his kicks, but someday he will.
And if you believe in a higher power, then the thief has put a permanent stain on his soul, and done damage to his karma. The the price for that is much worse than what any civil authorities can dole out.
I personally believe that what goes around, comes around. (Though I don’t let that keep me from protecting my own copyrights — I just try not to stress about it too much.)
The one type of theft you can’t do much about is if stolen content shows up on someone else’s private grid where it’s hidden away and nobody ever sees it. After all, you can go after the big distribution networks and the big grids.
Eventually, we’ll have a Google for 3D worlds, and we’ll be able to track content wherever it shows up. Until then, all we can do is do our best. Go after the distributors, follow up with grid managers, set aside a reasonable amount of time to monitor this — and not worry about the rest.
— Maria Korolov
Editor, Hypergrid Business
http://www.hypergridbusiness.com
Once again, Linden Labs destroys support, removes the governing team that enforced this type of stuff, and then goes “We don’t know what to do about this problem, creators leave, oh well!”
Looks like those past linden employees who spoke out about this type of stuff were right.
What ever happened to the abuse report people there? Oh right, they were let go.
Philip Rosedale is his own worst enemy and is going to sink Linden.