Content Theft

The other day Lady Joie IM'd me and asked to speak to me about an important topic: content theft. Many of our ladies help new boys with makeovers and, most likely unbeknownst to them, some of the freebies they are handing out are stolen. Lady Joie had grown concerned about this practice, not only from the stand point of a designer and original content creator herself, but also out of concern for our Ladies, some of whom may be putting themselves at risk. Please take a moment and read Lady Joie's message below:

Hello everyone,

It seems that no matter where you are in SL, you see beautiful avatars. Many people here take the look of their avatar seriously and spend a lot of time and countless lindens to that end. As a content creator, I know that nothing gives me more pride, more sense of accomplishment, or more delight than seeing someone use and really enjoy something that I spent hours dreaming about and bringing to life. And yet, there is a dark side. Some people think that they have the right to duplicate or steal content created by another person. Maybe they are trying to cash in on another person’s hard work. Maybe they just think it’s okay because SL should “be open source, open content for everyone”. But that is not true. Content theft is both a violation of SL Community Standards as well as a crime in every country. If you are found passing copies of items that are stolen, Linden Labs can remove your account and will pass all of your RL information to the rightful owner of that property so they can sue you, even if you are not selling the stolen goods. I won’t get into the technicalities of what a DMCA notice is or of how and why they are issued. Many content creators make a living off of what they make in SL. That L$1000 you spent on a skin is equal to about US$4.00, equivalent to a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. These people have to pay land tiers, not to mention advertising fees, and all of the other costs associated with doing business in SL. Every copy of a stolen skin that you pass out is money that they could not earn. It adds up quickly. Worse than the monetary aspect is the feeling of violation: that someone who didn’t put all that effort into the product, who doesn’t care about you as a designer, and who has no respect for you as a human being can just walk away with something that is yours and by that very act has made your efforts worthless.

You might be asking “So what’s the big deal if someone gave it to me and I use it?” Well, in RL, possession is 9/10ths of the law. Ignorance does not excuse you from being liable. You might think that by passing out an item to a new resident, you are “helping” them. But that is not true. You are perpetuating the problem. A new resident often does not know or understand that items created in SL remain the property of the creators. You, by purchasing the item, have purchased a license to use it only. Items like skin and hair are almost never transferable. If you have full perm copies, or transferable copies, they are probably stolen.

As a content creator I am hoping that you will accept no substitutes. No stolen skin. No stolen hair. No stolen clothing. No stolen items of any other type. To help, I have spent several hours compiling information that you can use to update, or trick out your avatar, very cheaply (E.E. note: watch for this info in our upcoming 'Resource Centre' at Dominion Luxe). I encourage you to only buy from reputable designers, and to refuse to accept stolen content. If you have such items, I encourage you to pass them to the designers from whom they were stolen so that the content can be removed from SL and the rights of its creators protected.

Watch soon for "The Dominion Resource Center": a place for new residents that come to The Dominion to get aquainted not only with Dominion, but also with SL, BDSM, and Femdom!

Thank you for your time,

Joie Arai
CEO, Collared
Esteemed Lady of The Dominion

My thanks to Lady Joie for her concern for our members and for all of her hard work on the upcoming Resource Centre. It is going to be a great help to our new members and I think you will all be very impressed when you see it come together. Watch group notices for more details.