There are two developments in Bragg v. Linden Lab this week. First, Marc Bragg made several new discovery documents available on his website. Second, Linden Lab responded to Bragg’s motion to dismiss Linden Lab’s counterclaims, providing more detail on its claim that Bragg used an exploit to buy land at less than its full value.

Readers just finding this coverage can read more about the Bragg case in previous VB posts. The discovery documents posted this week are as follows:

• Bragg’s 1st Interrogatories to Linden Lab (.pdf)
• Bragg’s 1st Request for Admissions to Linden Lab (.pdf)
• Bragg’s 3rd Request for Production of Documents to Linden Lab (.pdf)
• Bragg’s Notice of Deposition for Person Most Knowledgeable (.pdf)

I am not going to run excerpts from these documents because they’re not terribly interesting without answers (I’ll run excerpts with the responses, if they are illuminating) but one new wrinkle in this case does jump out: Linden Lab apparently changed the Second Life website around the end of August, removing the longstanding “Own Virtual Land” button, and replacing it with one that says “Get Virtual Land.” Also, the text, “Second Life is a 3D Online Digital World imagined, created, and owned by its residents,” appears to have been edited to remove the word “owned.” These requests largely target information related to these changes.

I’m not sure how much mileage Bragg can get out of these requests. At least for now, the “own virtual land” language does still appear on the Second Life website in the “What is Second Life?” section. Moreover, there is a Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE 407) that prohibits introduction of evidence of a subsequent remedial measure “to prove negligence [or] culpable conduct,” though I’ve typically seen the rule used in product liability cases, and there are exceptions. I’d be interested in reader thoughts on this.

Turning now to Linden Lab’s response to Bragg’s motion to dismiss:

• Linden Lab’s Brief in Opposition to Bragg’s Motion to Dismiss (.pdf)

Stylistically, Linden Lab’s response could not be more different that Bragg’s brief in support of the motion to dismiss. Where Bragg’s brief was fairly combative (recall the “cornered rat,”) Linden Lab’s response is rather reserved.

The parties also take very different approaches to the “story” here. Though Bragg devoted several pages to Philip Rosedale’s comments, the only mention of them in Linden Lab’s brief is an introductory sentence stating that the case is not about how “how computing resources that emulate property in the virtual world Linden maintains called ‘Second Life’ were described by the company founder.” Instead, Linden Lab uses its introduction to describe in significant detail Bragg’s land purchases. Both parties appear to be using these initial briefs to lay out their stories and educate the Court as to their primary arguments as well as argue the motion, a fairly common practice.

Though I’ve excerpted quite a bit of Linden Lab’s brief, I have not included the arguments from case law or the arguments regarding standards of pleading because they won’t interest more than a handful of readers.

Excerpts of Linden Lab’s response to Bragg’s motion follow.

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Al-Andalus Caliphate, a private government sim based on what its creator says are “authentic Islamic principles,” has opened in Second Life. Here is a SLURL to the build. Al-Andalus plans to eventually incorporate a functioning judiciary, based on Islamic law.

Al-Andalus joins Caledon, the Confederation of Democratic Simulators, and others, as quasi-governmental systems in Second Life. It is a creation of ‘Michel Manen,’ who has been involved in other government and judicial projects in the virtual world.

From the Al-Andalus Caliphate announcement:

The Al-Andalus Caliphate Project reconstructs 13th Century Moor Alhambra and builds around this virtual space a community of individuals willing to explore the modalities of interaction between different languages, nationalities, religions and cultures within a political and juridical space shaped by authentic Islamic principles.

Developer ‘Manen’ said that over 200 avatars visited during the opening ceremonies, including ‘Robin Linden’ (Robin Harper, Linden Lab’s VP of Marketing and Community Development). The event featured music, tours, and a presentation by Second Life commentator ‘Gwyneth Llewelyn’ on Portugal’s e-Justice alternative dispute resolution facility that recently opened in-world.

The term “Caliphate” refers to a unified Islamic government, and as such, the build will likely be controversial. ‘Manen’ says that the term “corresponds to an authentic Islamic politico-legal system representing an alternative world view.” He says that “without understanding the fundamentals of Islamic law and politics we will never be able to fully come to terms with the diversity and richness of today’s Islamic societies, whose roots reach back 1000 years.”

According to ‘Manen,’ Al-Andalus will have a judiciary, and it will be based on Islamic law, specifically “leading edge research of how authentic Islamic legal principles can be applied in a 21st century context, and be compatible with universal ideals of dignity, equality, democracy, participation and human rights.”

‘Manen’ says, “many such strands exist in an extremely rich and diverse history of Islamic jurisprudence going back to the origins of the Ku’ran, and a lot of research is being done by scholars in Europe and North America, as well as the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.” He says that his goal is “to pull this debate together and try to apply it in Second Life.” Which, he says, “is much easier and less dangerous than in real life.”

Cornell Professor Robert Bloomfield, in association with Metaversed, has announced Metanomics 07, a speaker series focused on business and policy in the metaverse. A partial speaker list has been posted (nominations are still open) and it includes a diverse and impressive list of academics, business leaders, and commentators from a cross-section of the professional metaverse. Several of the presentations will be of particular interest to readers who follow virtual law. From the announcement:

While events take place in Second Life, and we will have a number of sessions on the vibrant Second Life business community, our scope embraces all of the Metaverse. The complete list of speakers includes virtual world visionaries Julian Dibbell and Ted Castronova, legal scholars Bryan T. Camp and Joshua Fairfield, Second Life tycoon Anshe Chung, US Congressional Staffer Dan Miller. We also expect to have representatives from a number of key businesses in the Metaverse, such as IBM, Intel, SAP, and Cisco.

Events will be broadcast on SLCN.tv, and will be archived on Metaversed. This looks like a great set of presentations, and they’re already on my calendar.

The Seventh Sun, a monthly Second Life publication that I’d somehow overlooked until now (not sure how, it’s actually better than most of what’s out there) is running an interview with ‘Desmond Shang,’ the developer of Second Life’s “Independent State of Caledon.” For more on Caledon, visit the Caledon entry in the SL History wiki. In response to some good questions from interviewer ‘Dreamingen Writer,’ ‘Shang’ discusses covenants, Linden Lab’s gambling ban, in-world legal systems, difficulties in Second Life’s financial sector, and evidence collection in virtual worlds. It’s an interesting interview that covers a lot of ground.