Second Life creator Linden Lab is complying with Eros LLC’s subpoena seeking the identity of a John Doe defendant so far identified only as his Second Life avatar, ‘Volkov Catteneo,’ according to an Eros lawyer. Eros alleges ‘Catteneo’ violated Eros’ copyright and trademark on its popular SexGen virtual products.

Eros’ attorney, Frank Taney, a partner at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, confirmed today that Linden Lab has produced “information in response to the subpoena.” The subpoena sought “documents sufficient to show the entirety of any identifying information” provided to Linden Lab by ‘Catteneo,’ and also sought alternate account information, transaction history, chat history, IP addresses, and credit card information.

Taney said that he is currently evaluating the material, and that “it has always been the plan to amend the complaint if and when we establish the identity of the defendant.”

PayPal, which was also subpoenaed, had previously indicated it would comply, according to Reuters. Reuters also reported that Linden Lab had been granted an extension to last Friday, August 3rd. Taney confirmed today that Linden Lab has not filed any motion to limit or quash the subpoena.

I hope to find out later today if Linden Lab is going to join PayPal in voluntarily complying with the Eros subpoena [it is], but in the meantime, American.com has an interesting article up suggesting a change in civil procedure to make it harder to force companies like Linden Lab to comply with requests for the real-life identities behind avatars. From the article:

[W]hen lawsuits involve subpoenas to uncover the identities of virtual avatars—or, for that matter, pseudonymous bloggers and blog commenters—both state and federal rules of civil procedure likely need to be reformed so that plaintiffs will need to satisfy some clear standard before they can force pseudonymous Internet users into the open. My suggestion: Plaintiffs should have to discuss the merits of the case itself in a fashion specific enough to survive a motion to dismiss—and thus to justify discovering the identity behind a particular avatar.

A plaintiff can currently file a complaint against a “John Doe” defendant, and immediately subpoena service providers seeking the real identity of the user behind the avatar. The providers can move to quash the subpoena, but the grounds for doing so are fairly narrow and important information is at stake. On the other hand, setting the hurdle higher would make it more difficult and more expensive to bring lawsuits based on in-world actions.

Hat tip to ‘Nobody Fugazi’ over at Your2ndPlace who linked to this article from The Independent this morning. Summary: the UK’s HM Revenue and Customs department has started investigating people who are making money in Second Life and not paying taxes on the profits. From the article:

According to Blick Rothenberg, the London-based chartered accountant, the Revenue has become concerned at the growing number of people who are using the game to trade virtual items for real money, generating profits without paying any tax.

“There is no doubt that HMRC are looking at this and trying to decide how to tackle what could be a considerable loss to the Exchequer,” said Matt Coward, a senior tax partner at Blick Rothenberg.

Second Life’s ‘Cat Galileo,’ a real life and Second Life law librarian, has put together two resources with in-world and web-based components that should prove really interesting to regular readers. The first is “Lawspot” which is both a law library in Second Life (here’s a SLURL, you can find it in the Bell Library on the 5th Floor on Info Island I, in the southeast corner) and a web-based resource for virtual law. It contains links to everything from lists of blogs like VB, to real-world litigation listings, to pointers to books related to virtual worlds and law.

From the Lawspot description:

The Lawspot Library’s primary goal is to gather resources and links related to the law of virtual worlds, both Second Life and others. The Library also contains links and resources related to U.S.A. primary law and secondary sources.

‘Galileo’ also manages the Galileo Law Directory, available in-world at the Lawspot library, and also on the web, which is a comprehensive, frequently updated listing of in-world Second Life legal content. Some of what you will find here may surprise you. For example, she currently lists forty lawyers with offices in Second Life. She also has sections for ADR, Facilities, Associations, Business Groups, Educational Resources, Governance, and Roleplay. Both sites are well worth bookmarking.