Socially|Mundane

As I had reported a couple days ago about first life legal issues in Second Life (and practically most virtual worlds) - the news of legal-eagles taking the dive into what they are calling "virtual law" is on the upswing.

However, don't let the term "virtual law" fool you. It's simply a quick and easy way to refer to first life, also know as real life law as it applies to virtual worlds. In other words, just because the virtual world is a cartoon 'fantasy' that doesn't really exist, disputes that occur there are real. And any time there is money involved, beware.

And in Second Life, there is real money involved every day, and it touches everyone. The biggest lawsuit to date is Kevin Alderman's suit over allegedly stolen intellectual property, specifically computer code he created that was sold without permission.

However, the most common issue at the forefront of our minds for now, and for some time has to do with similar infractions, but also with regard to copyright and trademark law. Taser International has brought suit against Linden Research, parent company of (or 'doing business as) Linden Lab over user references to the Taser moniker in their virtual creations without authorization.

I see a lot of logos being used in Second Life myself: Nike, Playboy, Dell, Apple... the list goes on. And that doesn't even take into account all the "near-misses" - where a slight change is made, like "Omiga (Omega)" and "Rolix (Rolex) watches and and "Armadee" Mens suits and things {me rolls eyes}.

There is a lot of money being thrown around Second Life alone, not to mention other virtual worlds. The legal-eagle industry wants a piece of that pie. So they are jumping in head-first with both feet. I know, that is a nonsensical oxymoron, but it's my blog and I can bastardize the English language all I want because I'm an American and we do that as a matter of course.

What do Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, and IP firm Banner & Witcoff all have in common?

The answer: practices dedicated to the burgeoning field of virtual law. That's according to a recent story in the San Francisco Chronicle about lawyers and their avatars. It turns out that even in the world of make-believe, clients sometimes need real-world legal advice.

While courts have heard only a few disputes originating in computer-simulated virtual worlds, the Chronicle reports that more attorneys are setting up shop in alternate realities as a means of soliciting business.
No, seriously.

[From Am Law Attorneys Have Avatars Too]