Sex bed boss’ copyright shout
p2pnet news | product news:- “No more ‘Ball Sprawl’,” promises Stroker Serpentine on the SexGen site.
Well, thank God 
Like, who needs ball sprawl? Especially on a SexGen bed.
Stroker Serpentine is Second Life go-getter Kevin Alderman and he’s claiming copyright infringement against another Second Lifer, Volkov Catteneo.
Stroker wants to know Catteneo’s real-world identity, says Second Life’s Reuters (Eric as well as the wire service) post.
Alderman (sorry, Serpentine), “runs the adult-content company Eros LLC,” says the story. “One of the company’s most popular products is the SexGen bed, virtual furniture that contains more than 150 sex animations and retails for L$12,000 (US$45.11).
“In ‘Eros LLC vs John Doe,’ filed in the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Alderman accuses Catteneo of illicitly copying and selling the SexGen bed for as little as L$4,000, sharply cutting into Eros’ sales.”
Using ‘John Does’ in a bid to winkle out someone’s identity is a technique popularised by Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG’s RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) in its ongoing sue ‘em all marketing campaign through which it’s trying to blackmail music lovers into buying corporate product.
Alderman’s lawyer, Francis Taney, says he’ll tried to get Catteneo’s identity, chat histories, and financial records from Linden Lab and PayPal, says Reuters’ Reuters story, adding:
“Earlier this month the Amsterdam sims, another Alderman creation, were sold to Dutch media firm Boom BV for US$50,000.
“The SexGen beds are sold as ‘no-copy’ objects, normally prohibiting their replication. Alderman said he doesn’t know how a copyable version of his product began to circulate in Second Life.”
Stroker Alderman is demanding damages equal to three times those sustained by Eros, or three times the defendant’s profits, although, “We’re not going to sue him for a million dollars. I don’t want to crucify the guy. I’m trying to protect my income and my family.”
Also See:
Reuters – SL business sues for copyright infringement, July 3 2007
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Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!
July 5th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Second Life is like real life, except completely controlled by corporations. Imagine a world where everything is data, and can be copied infinitely at the press of a button. If it were the real world, it would be the dawn of a beautiful age with no fighting over natural resources, no consumer culture, no one going hungry or exposed to the elements. Now imagine a world where everything really IS data, but there’s DRM allowing anyone to pretend their imaginary property is real and unique, all subject to the whim of Linden Labs, and you have Second Life. And the silliness of this lawsuit is an example of that.
Actually, I take that back. Second Life isn’t really like real life at all. Second Life is like an IRC chat room with a clumsy 3D engine and scripting interface on top. I logged in for the first time last month, spent some time trying to make an avatar that looked like me, and when I was done, found I didn’t actually care. Watching some virtual blow-up doll doing the hot coffee routine is no better than watching people in chat rooms go “/me kneels down in front of you and OMG LOL”. No interest in miming the same scripted sex acts over and over when I can make up new ones in real life with someone else’s help.
But a lot of my friends are in there and just like I’m on AIM and Yahoo IM to stay in touch, I caved in on SL, so as long as SL is a cultural phenomenon, I am….
- “Dawg Maertens”