[opensource-dev] Third party viewer policy

[Lance Corrimal]

250% ACK!

Am Freitag 26 Februar 2010 schrieb Rob Nelson:
> I (obviously) agree.
> 
> I highly doubt that trying to claim copyright on "Life" or "Second"
>  in court would make the judge take the case seriously.  What's
>  next, claiming copyright on "primitive", "avatar", "lab", and
>  "simulator"? Sending C&Ds to people who write viewers called Slick
>  or Slanderous? Sending C&Ds to people who write programs that have
>  nothing to do with Linden Lab whatsoever?
> 
> Also, can anyone confirm/deny whether "Living" is also a forbidden
>  term? RLV's developer blog has posted that "Living" was also
>  rejected by Linden staff, but I'd like to hear it from the horse's
>  mouth.  If so, I might as well move my viewer over to OpenSim
>  exclusively, and not have to bother with overbearing regulations
>  and rabid lawyers at all.
> 
> When you spend so much time harassing legitimate viewers, and so
>  little time going after the people who are actually damaging you,
>  you need to re-check your priorities.  People who write Copybots
>  and NeilLife-like viewers are your enemies (they're certainly not
>  going to spend much money), so go after them instead of having
>  everyone else jump through hoops that the copybotters are going to
>  ignore anyway.  All you're doing is making it harder for
>  legitimate people to create content and applications for your
>  grid.
> 
> Also, are we going to see enforcement of this, or is it going to
>  quietly disappear after about a week like all of the other
>  Copybot/Content theft-related promises we've heard on the blog?
> 
> Rob Nelson
> Lead Developer
> Luna Viewer (http://luna-viewer.googlecode.com)
> 
> On Thu, 2010-02-25 at 22:01 -0800, Bryon Ruxton wrote:
> > A name suggestion for viewers: "A viewer that connect to a
> > virtual world that can't be name for risks of being objected to
> > by a company with aggressive lawyers who like to come up with
> > unconscionable terms of services, or who make illegitimate
> > attempts of one's right to forbid the usage of words they do not
> > have trademark rights over"
> >
> > > "Unfortunately they maintain that we put our trademark at risk
> > > without
> >
> > consistent enforcement. They can't budge."
> > Soft, they ought to consider that abusive overreach on their part
> > could on the other end, put LL at risk of being liable once again
> > of lawsuits being translated in court to unconscionable terms of
> > services. Sounds familiar?
> >
> > As far I recall LL has the trademark over "SL" and "Second Life".
> > So perhaps your lawyers could suck the "Life" out of their
> > jurisdictions?
> >
> > I get the fact that they had to go an extra unusual mile with
> > brand name protection due the nature of the company's name. But
> > there was also an attempt to trademark the word "grid" alone, in
> > the past. That speaks a lot!
> >
> > I don't see a need for concessions here, but for your lawyers to
> > re-evaluate their legitimate rights to such claim to begin with.
> > I just don't see it.
> >
> > If I was your marketing department. I would be equally concerned
> > as to the repercussions of such restrictions for impeding the
> > ability for Linden Research to promote its Second Life name and
> > market itself as a grid.
> >
> > "Stop shooting yourself in the foot. It could impede your ability
> > to walk."
> >
> > On 2/24/10 11:16 AM, "Soft Linden" <soft at lindenlab.com> wrote:
> > > On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 1:50 AM, Marine Kelley 
<marinekelley at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >> You gotta be kiddin me !! I call that a stab in the back. You
> > >> guys disgust me.
> > >>
> > >> Your Third-Party Viewer name must not be confusingly similar
> > >> to or use any part of a Linden Lab trademark, including
> > >> ³Second,² ³Life,² ³SL,² or ³Linden.² For example:
> > >>
> > >> You must not have a Third-Party Viewer name that is ³________
> > >> Life² where ³________² is a term or series of terms
> > >
> > > I talked to legal to ask if there were any concessions they
> > > could make - I know there are hundreds of items that use your
> > > name, which makes this really disruptive. Unfortunately they
> > > maintain that we put our trademark at risk without consistent
> > > enforcement. They can't budge. However, they were willing to
> > > offer some extra time for transitioning to a new name, as well
> > > as help in making sure people can still find your viewer based
> > > on the old name.
> > >
> > > First, you wouldn't need to change the name right away. They
> > > were okay with giving three months to make a change, in hopes
> > > that that's enough time to do so without a rush or an extra
> > > release.
> > >
> > > Second, if you're able to do that, you can still be listed in
> > > the viewer registry right away. You'd need to select a new name
> > > for the viewer, but "(formerly Restrained Life)" will be shown
> > > underneath the name so there's no question as to which viewer
> > > people would download if they came in search of your own.
> > >
> > > If there's anyone else with an established viewer name that
> > > conflicts with the viewer policy, and who wants to be included
> > > in the registry, the same offer is open to you as well.
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