Virtually Blind | Virtual Law

The9 Wins Lawsuit Against Chinese Gamer for Using World of Warcraft Plugins

Kenan Farrell — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:14:12 +0000

Virtual law news is finally trickling out of China following the Olympic media storm. The9 is touting another victory in its ongoing war against plugins. The9, which operates World of Warcraft for our Chinese friends, has won a lawsuit against a gamer found to be using a plugin for its licensed MMORPG World of Warcraft [...]

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Suspends SLART Cancellation Proceeding Until District Case Decided

Benjamin Duranske — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:51:19 +0000

Second Life creator Linden Lab’s attempt to open a second front in the battle over SLART has been stymied. The USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board suspended (.pdf) the cancellation proceeding that Linden Lab initaited last month regarding artist Richard Minsky’s registration of “SLART” pending the outcome of the lawsuit Minsky filed earlier in Federal [...]

Recent Target Settlement Raises Questions About Virtual World Access for Users with Disabilities

Benjamin Duranske — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 07:00:59 +0000

Users with disabilities access virtual worlds on the 3D internet to run businesses, socialize without stigmas, and learn in new ways. There’s even a “Virtual Ability” island in Second Life (originally funded by the National Library of Medicine and maintained through private donations) devoted to accessibility for disabled users. Just like the real world, however, [...]

Reading Room: “Transactions of Virtual Items in Virtual Worlds” by Michael Passman

Benjamin Duranske — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:17:30 +0000

This edition of Virtually Blind’s Reading Room features an article addressing legal issues associated with virtual item transactions. The article, Transactions of Virtual Items in Virtual Worlds (.pdf), by Michael Passman, is available here courtesy of the author and the Albany Law Journal of Science & Technology. Passman is a recent law school graduate [...]

MDY Agrees to Pay Blizzard $6m in Damages in World of Warcraft Bot Lawsuit, Pending Appeal

Benjamin Duranske — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:42:21 +0000

MDY Industries has agreed to pay World of Warcraft creator Blizzard $6,000,000 in damages arising from the use of MDY’s game bots in World of Warcraft, pending appeal. The court formalized this agreement with an Order and Stipulated Judgment (.pdf). Blizzard prevailed on several key issues at summary judgment earlier this year, setting up this [...]

Linden Lab Gets Extension of Time to Oppose Pending “SLCN” Trademark Registration

Benjamin Duranske — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:06:08 +0000

Second Life creator Linden Lab is apparently in negotiations with in-world production studio and broadcaster SLCN.tv over SLCN’s pending trademark registration for the characters “SLCN” for “broadcasting radio and television programs in a virtual environment.” Linden Lab sought, and has been granted, a 90-day Request for an Extension of Time (.pdf) for Linden Lab to [...]

Benjamin Duranske on Metanomics September 29th on Panel Discussing Philip Rosedale Interview

Benjamin Duranske — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:23:54 +0000

Quick programming note: I’m appearing on Metanomics on Monday, September 29 at 12:00 Noon PDT on a panel discussing Robert Bloomfield’s recent interview with Second Life founder Philip Rosedale. Other panelists include Christian Renaud, Wagner James Au, ‘Dusan Writer,’ Nic Mitham, Tish Shute, ‘Betinna Tizzy,’ and Roland Legrand. You can catch Metanomics “live” in Second [...]

Virtual Law Cover Story by Benjamin Duranske and Sean Kane in New IP Magazine “Landslide”

Benjamin Duranske — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:52:21 +0000

I’m excited to report that I co-authored the cover article, Virtual Worlds, Real World Issues, for the the inaugural issue of Landslide. Landslide is a new magazine from the Intellectual Property Law Section of the American Bar Association; it should be arriving in mailboxes this week. My co-author is Sean Kane, who is also one [...]

MDY v. Blizzard: Judge Refuses to Issue Permanent Injunction Shutting Down MDY… at Least for Now [Updated: Trial Date Set]

Benjamin Duranske — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:22:11 +0000

The judge in MDY v. Blizzard has issued an order (.pdf) denying Blizzard’s request for a permanent injunction which would have effectively shut down MDY’s operations in advance of trial. For the full background of this suit, see Virtually Blind’s complete coverage of MDY v. Blizzard. Blizzard had asked for several extraordinary measures, including prohibiting the [...]

Second Life Founder Philip Rosedale on Second Life Governance and Legal Issues: “Policies will Probably be Fractured at International Boundaries”

Benjamin Duranske — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:00:28 +0000

Metanomics host Robert Bloomfield interviewed Second Life founder and Chairman of the Board, Philip Rosedale, on the record at the Second Life Community Convention in Tampa, Florida. The Rosedale interview is now available. Rosedale addressed several issues that involve legal and governance questions, and Robert asked me to post a brief reaction. Robert has also [...]