“Get a First Life” – Response from Linden Lab
January 25th, 2007 by Benjamin Duranske
Virtually Blind Commentary
In what has to encourage the right-shoulder side of the “Linden: good or evil?” debate, Linden executive Ginsu Yoon (his title is now “Vice President, International” but he’s also serving as General Counsel while they search for a full time GC) posted a comment for the guy who did “Get a First Life.”
We do not believe that reasonable people would argue as to whether the website located at http://www.getafirstlife.com/ constitutes parody — it clearly is. Linden Lab is well known among its customers and in the general business community as a company with enlightened and well-informed views regarding intellectual property rights, including the fair use doctrine, open source licensing, and other principles that support creativity and self-expression. We know parody when we see it.
That’s the right call. Right or not, though, it isn’t every day you see an executive posting an approving comment on a page parodying his company, and cracking wise while doing it. But apparently a sense of humor is a job requirement at Linden Lab:
Linden Lab objects to any implication that it would employ lawyers incapable of distinguishing such obvious parody. Indeed, any competent attorney is well aware that the outcome of sending a cease-and-desist letter regarding a parody is only to draw more attention to such parody, and to invite public scorn and ridicule of the humor-impaired legal counsel. Linden Lab is well-known for having strict hiring standards, including a requirement for having a sense of humor, from which our lawyers receive no exception.
That’s right. Lawyers with a sense of humor. Whatever criticisms might be leveled against the platform (there are many, but I generally chalk them up to growing pains) Linden Lab, the company, continues to impress.
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