Archive notice: This article was originally published on February 8, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Second Life (SL) http://www.secondlife.com is fighting a new wave of counterfeit brands and pirated copies. Merchants in the virtual world are groaning about criminal avatars springing up like mushrooms, copying brands and products in order to sell them in their own online stores. German Marco Eckert, who runs a fashion shop in SL, currently feels particularly affected. As he announced within the community, his designs were stolen and offered as copies at prices 50 percent lower. Eckert earns his living from the virtual shop and is dismayed by the damage caused. ‘Our sales have fallen by 75 percent within one week,’ says the German online merchant.
Around 1.4 million real dollars circulate in Second Life each day, but there are no police to investigate infringements or crimes. Copyright infringements in the virtual world are not new, but because of the unclear legal situation, the activities of brand pirates are becoming increasingly brazen. ‘Because of the stagnating and in some cases declining user figures, pressure on the brand-owner side has generally eased somewhat,’ says Hubert Neuner, Managing Director of agency P4M http://www.p4m.de, which tracks and documents trademark infringements on the internet, in conversation with pressetext. In addition, there is no uniform assessment of where the legal infringement begins and how it relates to the virtual platform. Users often have no intention of making a profit.
Victims of SL brand pirates have had little prospect so far of enforcing their claims. It becomes particularly difficult when the suspicious avatars are located outside the USA and EU. Frequently, even locating the individual shops operated by the counterfeiters presents major problems. SL merchants complain that usually only a portion can be identified and subsequently blocked. Half often remain undiscovered and continue operating. The virtual thieves have meanwhile also become so fearless that they openly admit their activities and establish entire ‘robber groups’ in Second Life.
The internet criminal gangs are hardly likely to benefit the image of the virtual world, which is already suffering from declining interest. ‘The hype has been strongly curbed in any event, as shown by the stagnating and in some cases declining user figures. Use of this archetype of the virtual world remains laborious for users in relation to the possibilities then offered to them,’ Neuner says in response to an enquiry from pressetext. In principle, however, interest in virtual worlds, which also appeal to people’s play instinct, remains present. ‘The discussion about trademark use will certainly revive with the next generation of virtual worlds,’ according to the expert’s concluding forecast.
