What a difference a name makes
Wednesday 2 April 2008
For any resident of Second Life, the official Second Life blog at http://www.secondlife.com/ is a must read site (almost as much as this one). It is there that you can find out the latest happenings at Linden Labs, the holders of our virtual destiny, the rulers of our metaverse, and sometimes, the cause of our annoyances (transactions unreliable two days in a row, at precisely the same time after a new simulator roll out, you say? Oh joy!). The big story this past two weeks was that Linden Labs, in a stance of defiance against a perceived threat to their corporate image, set out new rules about what you can and cannot do with the words "Second Life" "Linden" "SL" and "InSL".
The full rules can be found here and here, but generally boil down to stating that from now on, companies and websites, inworld or in rl, must not use Second Life or Linden as their company name or website address, as this could confuse people into thinking they are affiliated with LL. They are, however, allowed to use "SL" or "InSL", as LL have given "Special permission" for you to use these trademarks they own, AS LONG AS you "use "SL" or "inSL" (but not both) in combination with your own word mark... or in combination with a name that uses at least two generic nouns".
So, what's so bad about that, you may ask? Well, consider that some of the biggest and most celebrated websites supporting, enriching and adding to your SL experience have now technically found themselves operating in direct opposition to LL's wishes, despite having done nothing other than to work hard, and as far as they knew, with the blessing of LL. From the most popular SL shopping site, SLExchange, to the most popular social networking site, SLProfiles, to Second Life news sites such as SL-Newspaper or the Second Life Herald, many people are crying out, not knowing what they did wrong, and why the feeling from our inworld masters went from welcoming with open arms, to a decidedly cold shoulder, so quickly. To get a better perspective into exactly what the situation is for these companies, I popped some questions to JamesT Juno, CEO of http://www.sl-newspaper.com/ and Yo Brewster, the man behind http://www.slprofiles.com/:
Voodoo: What was your reactions when you found out about these new rulings?
JamesT Juno: Have they gone mad? What is wrong with us promoting the beautiful world of secondlife as we have been doing for over a year now?
Yo Brewster: My initial reaction was one of disbelief especially since Linden Lab has always promoted sites which included the SL abbreviation in their domain name in the past. I was on vacation at the time this was announced with very limited access to email but did receive several emails from other site owners that are basically facing the same issue. I believe many among us were hoping that Linden Lab would change their mind but I believe it's fair to say that Linden Lab isn't willing to listen in this case. According to individuals within LL , they're getting overwhelmed with emails (keep on sending them!) which is why many of us have a hard time getting a hold of people within Linden Lab to talk about this issue.
Voodoo Buwan: Finally, if you could send out a message to Linden Labs regarding this, what would you say?
JamesT Juno: Dear Lindens, Is it THAT wrong that we try to promote "your" secondlife as a fun thing to do? Is it that wrong to make it OUR secondlife?
Yo Brewster: Consistency please - that's all I'm pleading for. Will Linden Lab adjust their rules again in the future forcing us to change our domain name again? If you did it once, what tells us you won't do it again?
So there you have it. Businesses built on the principles originally set out by Linden Labs, embracing, celebrating and making Second Life their own, now made to suffer, as they are thought to be too close. But the other question of course, is that just because LL say this, does it make it law? Last year, in a very high profile court case, the SL Terms of Service were declared to be unenforceable in a US court of law (and since, as we are constantly reminded, LL are a US company, that's the court to watch). So, the final question is this: Which company or website owner is going to be brave enough to stand their ground after the 90 days, call LL's possible bluff and see if they can defeat the Linden Gods in the courts, to settle who's Second Life it is? Or will it even come to that, for, as Yo Brewster pointed out to me in an aside, these guys may wish to get involved in the debate over who has the SL trademark in the first place....
