Recent Articles

Benjamin Duranske Joins Pillsbury’s New Virtual Worlds and Video Games Practice

December 03, 2008 05:15

I am pleased to announce that I have accepted a position with Pillsbury, a global law firm with San Francisco roots and a high-tech history dating all the way back to cutting-edge 1880s telegraph cases.  I’ll be helping establish and build Pillsbury’s new virtual worlds and video games...

Benjamin Duranske Guest Hosting Special Edition of Metanomics Featuring Virtual World Authors

December 02, 2008 21:42

Benjamin Duranske, VB’s editor and author of Virtual Law, is guest hosting a special edition of Metanomics on Monday, December 8 at 12:00 PM Second Life time (Pacific).  The show will feature a number of other virtual world authors talking about their books and their current projects —...

Quicklinks: Taxes, Blogs, Patents and Lawsuits

November 29, 2008 21:04

Virtually Blind periodically runs “quicklinks” — items that are not long enough for a full story, but are worth a click. Here’s the current batch. The Chartered Institute of Taxation will be conducting a seminar on virtual world tax issues at Second Life’s Depo Business Park on Tuesday, the...

Second Life Miss Universe Pageant Trumped by Real Life Trademark Holder, Linden Lab Assists

November 24, 2008 17:30

I recently ran across a story about a dustup over alleged misuse of the “Miss Universe” trademark in Second Life (via Twisted and Tawdry).  Cutting through the drama (and there’s plenty, if your drama levels are low) the story appears to be that “The Trump...

CLE Seminar “Web 2.0 for Lawyers” in Second Life Saturday, November 22 at 12:00 Noon Pacific

November 21, 2008 14:50

As part of the SL Bar Association’s speaker series, Kate Fitz (Second Life’s ‘Cat Galeilo’), is presenting “Web 2.0 for Lawyers” in Second Life Saturday, November 22 at 12:00 Noon Pacific time. Fitz, who is a public law librarian in Sacramento, California and member of the...

Virtual World Screenshots Raise Copyright Questions

November 19, 2008 02:21

There’s an interesting post over at Not Possible In Real Life asking the question: “What is the correct (and legal) way to attribute photography and video shot in virtual worlds?” I was going to leave a comment there, but there’s really no way to answer this question off the...

Polska Republika Launches in Second Life; Constitution Posted

November 13, 2008 16:55

The Polska Republika has launched as the newest self-governance project in Second Life.  Here’s the Polska Republika website, and, since it’s entirely in Polish, here’s a traditionally suspect Google translation. The Polska Republika has posted a Constitution (here’s the...

SLART Update: Rosedale and Kapor Move to Dismiss, Minsky Responds, and Minsky Answers Counterclaims

November 09, 2008 21:11

There are three new filings in the SLART trademark suit.  First, Philip Rosedale and Mitch Kapor have filed a Motion to Dismiss (.zip, w/exhibits) arguing that Minsky’s fraud claims lack sufficient specificity.  Minsky has Responded (.zip, w/exhibits), and has also filed an Answer (.zip,...

Third-Party Motion in World of Warcraft Bot Case Accuses Blizzard of… Well… Beats Me

November 05, 2008 16:33

This is an update in the MDY v. Blizzard case.  Sort of.  Here’s the deal — people who have nothing to do with a case sometimes file motions in U.S. Courts.  These motions usually take the form of the amicus brief filed earlier by Public Knowledge, a digital rights advocacy group. But...

China Imposing 20% Tax on Profits on Virtual Money

November 04, 2008 17:39

The Wall Street Journal’s China Journal reports that China is directly taxing profits made on sales of virtual currency, apparently whether or not the virtual world or game provider affirmatively supports “real money trade” in its game or virtual world.  From the WSJ post: The...