Gamers Rights Law » Second Life

New lawsuits update

jaymoffitt — Tue, 04 May 2010 05:19:14 +0000

Infinity Ward Developers sue Activision (for unpaid royalties)

From Lawsuits and Settlements Web site (talking about the California state law factor) ; and story from the Vancouver Sun.

A slightly different take…The Lawsuit and Public Relations, from Gamasutra. Other lawsuits, after the jump….

Linden Lab “land-owners” sue for the change in Terms of Service over the years

In California… AGAIN… article here at this online mag.

The story from Virtual Worlds News… ; From the Los Angeles Times Business blog; the always dependable Massively

Linux Users sue for loss of that capability on PS3 (via the latest PSN update “killing” any Linux installation).

Gamespot article here….; and from Kotaku.

All of these lawsuits are very complicated, and interesting, and I hope to discuss them in full, at a later date.

Jay Moffitt is a Tennessee attorney. This blog is for entertainment and educational purposes only and does not consitute legal advice or create an attorney/client relationship. Jay Moffitt is not certified as a specialist in this area by Tennessee and Tennessee does not certify specialists in this practice area. All comments will be answered promptly and courteously as long as they are germane to the discussion and do not contain specific game names or incidents.

Danger in Online Worlds

jaymoffitt — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:45:24 +0000

FTC’s report on adult content in online worlds

A full story from PC Mag says report claims adult content still viewable by children, despite precautions. Notably, “It is far too easy for children and young teens to access explicit content in some of these virtual worlds,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. ”

One short thing to note in the virtual worlds’ defense, in the reports’ Footnote 26: “In visiting each online virtual world studied, the Commission’s researchers did not put themselves in 45. the place of an average virtual world user. Instead, the researchers were specifically instructed to search for as many different types of explicit content as possible in the time allotted, performing key word searches using explicit terms, looking for explicitly-themed discussion forums and chat rooms, and observing explicit avatar chat.” I only have an opinion as an attorney, not a researcher, but that kind of testing would seem much beyond the pale of unbiased researcher and would go towards “ghost hunting”(i.e. if you go looking for ghosts you’re going to find them).

From Ypulse, a Website focused on youth worlds, “The FTC report brings to light the challenges facing companies trying to cash in on the virtual world phenomenon.Unlike traditional pre-packaged products, online virtual worlds are driven partially (and sometimes primarily) by user-generated content.”

A family-friendly Website, Netfamily news says “This is a great start. As purely user-driven media, virtual worlds are a frontier for research on online behavior.”

A social games Website article notes “Given important First Amendment considerations, the Commission supports virtual world operators’ self-regulatory efforts to implement these recommendations.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Here is a representative sample of the many Websites attacking the content or methodology of the Study.

Ars Technicais critical of the FTC study. It says “That’s on top of the fact that the biggest threat to kids online is… other kids. According to a 2009 report by Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, the percentage of children being sexually targeted by adults online is very low compared to kids targeting other kids

Massively (features on Massive Multiplayer Online games) reported the results were to be expected. They pointed out ” some elements of the study’s methodology are a bit questionable, especially as their list of explicit material included words common to anyone with a history of playing video games. (Or cable television.)”

PlayNoEvil, predomimnatly a developer and security Website, talks about the difficulty of the type of age verification proposed in the government report. ” One suggestion that is solid is to use an “Age Neutral” request for a new user’s age – e.g. “Enter your birthdate” rather than “Are you under 13″.The other is to tag a computer as being used by a minor if they try to login again with a different age.”

A difficulty that’s not discussed is online access through simple devices, Nintendo DSi, Iphones, and other platforms that aren’t really computers but allow net acess. I would predict that to be a “hot point” of the next government report following up on this report.

Last note: one recommendation by the report would seem to be unanimous to both sides of the argument. “The report recommends that parents and children become better educated about online virtual worlds, and affirms the FTC’s commitment to ensuring that parents have the informationthey need to make informed choices. A consumer alert, Virtual Worlds and Kids: Mapping the Risks, is available at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt038.shtm.

As always; a couple of intellectual discussions which further the brief discussion above, for those wishing to inform themselves:

Protecting Children in Virtual Worlds, cited as Protecting Children in Virtual Worlds Without Undermining Their Economic, Educational and Social Benefits, Benjamin Duranske, Pillsbury Winthrop LLP, Robert J. Bloomfield, Cornell University – Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, October 13, 2009
Washington and Lee Law Review, Vol. 66, 2009

Social Networking and Age Verification, cite as Thierer, Adam D., Social Networking and Age Verification: Many Hard Questions; No Easy Solutions (March 21, 2007). Progress & Freedom Foundation Progress on Point Paper No. 14.5. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=976936

A related but interestingly similar argument: a Supreme Court case related to delivery of another contraband, tobacco products, to a minor, and the expectation that online delivery measure up to the standards of actual in-person delivery of product.

I encourage comments upon this topic, pro or con, as I consider this one of the most important issues facing online games.

Your avatar and your identity?

jaymoffitt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:14:07 +0000

A lot of thoughts lately from various sites about the role of your avatar and your identity.

From Pixels and Policy, a great article about the attractiveness of avatars, and how it influences your popularity in virtual worlds.

From a site focusing on gender, gender equality, and other issues, a great article entitled “Real World Beauty Pressures in Second Life.”

A great article on body-concept in Second Life, with a long string of comments.

And another worry (or perhaps laugh?), Virtual Worlds Forum reports that gender swaps are common for online gaming. A tongue-in-cheek article in the Guardian claims to have a reasoning as to why men play as a female avatar in online games. As a related worrying development, it is rumored some games may have gender self-identification systems in the game, article at Destructoid; warning, probably NSFW.

Now I will probably cover these topics a little more as cases are filed, but for now it is probably someone will at some point declare that this would be none of the game publisher’s business, or some player might declare that this is “shocking, just shocking.”

Updates, important Updates

jaymoffitt — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:14:00 +0000

Here are some important legal updates on stories I’ve talked about the last 90 days.

World of Warcraft is shut down in China once again by government authority. Here’s the full story at gamasutra. The most telling information is that even in a government as centralized as China there is sometimes a lack of communication. The size of WOW in China is stunning, fueled by lower subscription costs; according to Gamasutra almost half of WOW 11.5 million subscribers are in China. You can read my previous stories on the travails of running WOW in China here and here.

The PS3 Owner (Estavillo) is appealing the court decision against him. Sony’s Playstation Home won in the lower court, but the story of his appeal is here. My earlier post on the subject talks about the issues of Estavillo v Sony. It’s a good read, especially demonstrating how sympathetic facts can propel a case, even when the existing law does not seem to show a precedent.

Remember the sentimental stories you’ve read about games closing, and classy ways (I’m looking at you, Matrix online) to do that, and not-so-classy ways to close a world? Well here’s a story about a disgruntled customer who isn’t happy with coupons.

And the fourth and final update, a pulse check on Second Life. Yep, it’s ALIVE! (Insert creepy Dr. Frankenstein laugh). Everything in RL(real life) is static, yet Second Life continues to grow.

Virtual worlds for Education

jaymoffitt — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:01:18 +0000

A good starting point for understanding Virtual Worlds in Education is this NPR interview that is found at Gamepolitics.

The funding money is beginning to be there. It was recently announced that the University of Texas will be using 16 disciplines in Second Life. The details are that “A new, one-year project will set the bar for virtual educational tools as the University of Texas brings 16 campuses into the Second Life world with its Transforming Undergraduate Education system. This plan by researcher and educator Dr. Leslie Jarmon (SL: Bluewave Ogee), recently received a grant to fund the project for a year.” The Linden Lab press release claims “the first statewide rollout of a virtual learning environment in the world.” The release continues to describe the environment as “the initiation of a pioneering statewide virtual learning community of students, faculty, researchers and administrators in Second Life, that offers an innovative, low-cost approach to undergraduate instruction”.

Comments?

Here are some other groundbreaking educational uses for virtual worlds

Autism resources in Virtual Worlds

Swine Flu in Virtual Worlds; Swine Flu Game

QWag changes name to Teleplace; has interactive technology and database integration

US Government resources in Second Life; including Medical resources

Jay Moffitt is a TN attorney. The statements here are not legal advice, and no attorney/client relationship is created. Jay Moffitt claims no certification in this specialty, and TN does not offer a certification in this area of law. Copyright, Jay Moffitt, 2009. Comments are welcomed and will be answered promptly and courteously.

Avatar, a Love Story

jaymoffitt — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:39:22 +0000

No, this isn’t going to be a “creepy” post. It’s just a little sampling of those “weird stories” about virtual worlds that the mainstream media seems consumed by. For the most part, there’s less theft, less cheating, less adultery, and less “playing outside the rules” in VWs than in RL(real world). But that doesn’t make headlines. So here is a requisite sampling of the latest of the sad, unusual, and possibly lawsuit-causing incidents that have been featured lately on the internet, followed up by some places you might read actual serious discussion (by scientists and psychologists, no less) about why we play, why we must play, and the role all this has in making us a better society.

Poignant, poignant story. The avatar living in Second Life was slowly becoming more detached, less involved in the Second Life. And had stated in-game that because of necessary regular medication, she could choose dying simply by stopping the meds at any time. It is tragic, yet incredibly interesting how the signs were there in both SL and in RL(real life) of the sad, sad, ending to the story.

Another interesting article is Rights of Avatars by Raph Koster. It has incredible insights about avatars and the requisite fundamental rights one might attribute to them. And I’m aware that it is an almost 10-year-old blog post, but then again, it is still the most complete statement about the avatar as separate from the owner. You can also do worse than buying his book “Theory of Fun” from Amazon (Yes, I know I could link, but I don’t link commercial ventures on this site.)

Second Life Divorce tells the story of a real life (RL) divorce incited by a Second Life (SL) “affair?”, relationship, how would you term that exactly? Yes, it is a little creepy, but when you talk to divorce lawyers they will tell you of divorces caused by sandwiches being sliced on the diagonal rather than horizontal, or not replacing the toothpaste cap, it’s not surprising that an endeavor that takes both money and also time would inevitably cause friction in a marriage.

Dressing for an Interview in Second Life is a great article in the mainstream Wall Street Journal. Which begs the question, what if you arrive the first day at work, and you’re the “opposite sex” that they expect? Or 40 years older? Opens up a whole can of worms, wouldn’t you think?

And finally, the informative links: Our virtual bodies, ourselves and also “Through the Looking Glass”(Correlation with RL personality and online personality

The Proteus Theory has the best characterization I’ve ever read of online gaming’s nature; “And in online environments, the avatar is not simply a uniform that is worn, the avatar is our entire self-representation. Whereas the uniform is one of many identity cues in the studies mentioned earlier, the avatar is the primary identity cue in online environments. Thus, we might expect that our avatars have a significant impact on how we
behave online.”

This work may be Cited as “The Daedalus Project” by Nick Yee, available at: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus. “What is the general methodology used? Links to online surveys are publicized on main portals catering to specific games. Respondents from past surveys are also notified of the available surveys. Most surveys are multiple choice and consist of 30-50 questions, and usually take about 5-10 minutes to complete. Approximately 2000-4000 respondents participate in each survey phase.”

3 for the B(usiness)
1. When you’re involved in litigation, remember in your online life (SL, WOW, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter) to restrict your “new” friends. Basically, if you can handle it psychologically, do not “friend” any new people during any litigious phase in your life. It might be a lawyer from the opposite side, or someone employed by them. It is still unclear how far an opposing party can go, see the interesting article by LLRX.

2. If you’re an attorney working on a RL case, it’s getting close to negligence to not make at least a passing reference to restricting online communications. Even if you don’t work in intellectual property, it is essential to question a new client about any “complications” especially in a case that is involving interpersonal relations.

3. Remember that anything you do online may eventually become known. If it is something you wish hidden, well, behave in such a way that it does remain hidden. I hope later to devote a whole post to the “testamentary” options in online games, especially SL – it is incredibly complex, and constantly evolving. Short story long, treat your online friends in the way you’d like to be treated, just like your RL friends; and just like in RL they will most likely take care of you.