Elmo is Not Your Bitch

Elmo does not belong to you.

(Picture - ©2009 Sesame Workshop)

Is that skin that you're wearing "ripped?" Was that clothing "CopyBotted" and reproduced? There are those unscrupulous folks (unlike this person) in Second Life^® who employ different devices to steal the creations of others and pass them off on others as their own. Who are the people who are most concerned with content theft? They are the creators in SL™. They make the clothes we wear, the homes we live in and the toys we play with in our second lives. They are a talented bunch who sometimes can be persnickety but I cannot blame a one for complaining about when their hard work is stolen.

What one however can take issue with is those who on the one hand complain about "content theft" while they themselves steal. Does that DJ who you listened to at the club you frequent or at that awareness event that you attended use licensed music. Was that issue poster that you passed over to me or the ones that you use for your shop created on an officially licensed and properly purchased copy of graphic design software (such as Adobe Photoshop) or are you using a "cracked" copy of a popular program? Do you own the intellectual property related to the content you are creating or are you stealing from other sources with neither permission nor with payment of a licensing fee? The World Intellectual Property Organization defines intellectual property as

"creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. Intellectual property is divided into two categories: Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs. "

Did you somehow think the boys from Twilight or Elmo were public domain and you were free to profit off of these or other intellectual properties that didn't belong to you? If you did you were sorely mistaken. These pieces of intellectual property belong to their holders and not to you and your store. This may include the style and look of something you lifted from an offworld magazine and adapted for yourself in your Second Life business. Software and content piracy contribute to billions of dollars and countless job losses each year. When you are stealing, you are helping to take somebody's job away so you can shop for your next pair of Moody's. Recently a creator, how has been vocal about stolen content, showed me their Second Life^® store complete with wonderful creations, nothing seemingly stolen from offworld or inworld. When asked what they like to do when not creating I was told "Oh I like to watch movies in SL™." "Oh really, is that some sort of officially licensed rebroadcast or replay of motion pictures? If not you do realize that you are stealing content, right." It seems I may have stunned the creator with this revelation as I got a stammered response followed by "Shush, I like my movie nights." So content theft is only applicable when the content is your creation? Some that offer movies online point to the fair use doctrine as their justification for selling movies inworld. This is a quite liberal interpretation of that doctrine. In the face of other theft, the hue and cry continues over Linden Lab's supposed failure to address the problem of content theft. Perhaps they don't have enough of an incentive to do so, even with some of their users suing them. Interestingly Linden Labs has raised "unclean hands" affirmative defense in a case brought by two content creators. Could it be possible that these creators "borrowed" from real world intellectual property? Nobody seems to know what it would take to properly combat content theft. Perhaps a big enough stick isn't being wielded just yet.

The best thing to combat "content theft" (that which is of actually original content and not stolen itself from the intellectual property of others) might be a lawsuit from intellectual property holders, the MPAA and/or the RIAA. Only when faced with such an action, might Linden Labs institute a licensing regime whereby intellectual property holders could offer their properties for sale inworld or license them out to creators. This would cause a considerable shakeup for current content thieves who are profiting off the hard work of others while still complaining about theft. Somehow they feel that stealing from a large concern is justified. Such a shakeup would leave legitimate designers, builders, owners and DJ's who have been respectful of intellectual property holders and have not themselves engaged in piracy poised to continue doing business. Only then can and should action be properly taken against others who steal content.

Are you a designer, builder, owner or DJ who respects intellectual property and what do you think about those who don't respect the intellectual property rights of others?