Wholesale Fails In Second Life
by Alphaville Herald on 10/04/09 at 7:44 am
Full permission sculpty packs – worse than BIABs?
by Tenshi Vielle
Remember the BIAB drama? Business in a box, where you could purchase clothes, eyes, skins, hair, shoes — all full perm, in one transaction? Dudley Do-Rights in SL would set those up for sale to
make themselves a few hundred USD, while the grid and the fashion world became horribly spammed with the same items at varying prices.
The cool kids now skip the BIAB's and go straight for the full perm light-baked sculpty packs. Slap a texture on, and voila! $200L instantly made. This does not apply to sculpty collars, jewels, or something like, say, leaves – I'm talking about full perm sculpty shoes or hats, something a creator could just take, re-texture, and sell. The entire practice would take twenty minutes, tops
This practice offends both consumers and creators. Sculpty-pack fashion hurts the consumers because they tend to be ripped off at every turn – purchase the shoes one place, find them textured similarly elsewhere at a cheaper price. Do you really want everything to be a cheap knock-off?
Sculpty-pack knockoffs offend the serious designers and creators who put in hours of work on one piece, while these the scultpy-re-packagers are putting in minimal effort and expecting a payback. The amusing bit is that some of the people who employ this 'resale tactic' are also the ones who complain on forums and boards about having low sales.
Sure, the dream of endless profit for the wholesaler works – at least, until the market becomes flooded. Eventually “wholesale” fails in SL, simply because anyone can copy that data a million times over and never, ever run out of material.
Eva Ryan
Apr 10th, 2009
Caveat emptor
Alyx Stoklitsky
Apr 10th, 2009
Old news. I noticed this months ago when I saw that just about every pair of boots in SL was the same two sculpties.
If it bothers you so much, just buy the sculpties and give them to every freebie warehouse you can find. Et viola, they are now virtually worthless.
Alyx Stoklitsky
Apr 10th, 2009
I have to agree with Alyx. If you really want to stop this, distribute to a freebie shop. In fact, in about a month they’ll probably appear there anyway with some white knight running in and ‘donating value to the helpless noobs’.
Also, explain how this:
“purchase the shoes one place, find them textured similarly elsewhere at a cheaper price”
Is any different than what ‘fashion designers’ already do in Second Life? Do you honestly believe that every wig and shoe purchased in Second Life is special and unique? That these people don’t take the base shoe, add a spot of purple or an extra strap, and then try to pawn it off as new and different?
And if you all were smart, you’d get those packs and sell those sculpties and just ride the wave. Have fun.
Ari Blackthorne
Apr 10th, 2009
I’m sorry, I forget…
Which part of the Constitution was it again that guaranteed the right to the freedom from being offended?
If the creator releases models as full perms, well they know the risk. The same with anyone who releases anything with full perms. Is it right that others go back, repurpose that stuff for resale? No. Of course not.
But for that creator to be “offended”?
Grow up. It hurts, sure. We all know that. But to be offended?
/me rolls eyes and breaks-out the violin, tossing a quarter so they can call someone who cares.
Copybot is one thing. But to intentionally release something as full perms is to expect a very short shelf-life. Any expectation other than that is naive at best.
Darien Caldwell
Apr 10th, 2009
I really shouldn’t have to say this, but if you buy a full perms kit and the license forbids reselling as a freebie, and you do, you’re breaking the law. Just because you don’t like that people sell kits doesn’t give you the right to take the law into your own hands and try to destroy their work. Saying it’s ‘inevitable’ isn’t justification either.
Alyx Stoklitsky
Apr 11th, 2009
Where did I say it was ok to distribute when the license forbids it? All I presented was one possible course of action, not necessarily the legal one.
Deimos
Apr 11th, 2009
What law? Most of the stuff everyone makes in SL is not copyrighted. Also, just resell it at 1 Linden Dollar, viola, it’s no longer free and you’re not breaking any ‘law’.
janeforyou Barbara
Apr 11th, 2009
DMCA takes care of this, easy and simple
To File a Notification
A written notification must be made. This can be done either by fax or written letter (regular mail or courier). Emails will not be accepted unless a prior arrangement has been made. The notification must:
Identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work that you believe has been infringed upon (i.e., describe the work that you own).
Identify the in-world item that you claim is infringing on your copyright, and provide information reasonably sufficient to locate the item in-world. For example “The allegedly infringing work I am referring to is located on the map area labeled ‘Freelon, 104,30,56′.”
Provide a reasonably sufficient method of contacting you; phone number and email address would be preferred.
(Optional) Provide information, if possible, sufficient to permit us to notify the user(s) who posted the content that allegedly contains infringing material. You may also provide screenshots or other materials that are helpful to identify the works in question. (This is for identification only, not to “prove” substantive claims.)
Include the following statement: “I have good faith belief that the use of the copyrighted materials described above and contained on the service is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or by protection of law.”
Include the following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.”
Sign the paper
Please note: The DMCA provides that you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys fees) if you falsely claim that an in-world item is infringing your copyrights. We recommend contacting an attorney if you are unsure whether an in-world object is protected by copyright laws.
Send the written document to the designated Copyright Agent at Linden Research:
Linden Research, Inc.
Attn: Designated Copyright Agent
945 Battery Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
Alternatively, fax the document to (415)520-9660. On the cover sheet, please write ATTN: DMCA NOTIFICATION
Johnny S
Apr 11th, 2009
This backs up my theory that the value of all objects in Second Life inevitably trends towards zero.
Darien Caldwell
Apr 11th, 2009
To the guy who said most stuff in SL isn’t copyrighted, sad to say you’re so wrong. Copyright is automatic, at the time of creation. Even in SL.
WikiWiki
Apr 12th, 2009
“Copyright is automatic, at the time of creation.”
Yes and no. It differs per country.
In the UK and Netherlands for example that goes, but in the US the ‘poor mans copyright’ (e.g. mailing the work to yourself and keeping it in a sealed envelope: thus giving you proof of the date of creation by the mailstamp) was only valid untill 1978. Also, a work must meet minimal standards of originality in order to qualify for copyright.
In SL the creation date is very easily proven, however you have to keep the original object (or texture etc) as any copy you will make will take on the creation date of the copy. (careful when building, in SL, the object you drag away when copying, is the original and not the copy!)
Minimal standards of originality, is where the problem in SL would arise. I have seen very little real originality in SL, and especially when it comes to clothing. Something like a general shoe shape wouldnt really be enough for a copyright, so I think you’re on the safe side when it comes to giving these shoeshapes to a freebie reseller.
After all, they are (from what I gather from the article) full perms and meant for resale.
It’s best tho to go with what the LL TOS has to say. RL laws apply in RL court when it comes to that, but lawyers cost money and I personally woulndt go trough the trouble of getting in trouble with the Lindens on my main account.
Kristoffer Juneau
Apr 14th, 2009
There is nothing wrong with someone wanting to release an Item full perm. I own a store where we purchase most of our sculpties through builders packs and also most of our animations. Its something I could make on my own, but just comes down to time and money. Cheaper for me to purchase full permission and spend my time using those sculpties or animations to build my furniture. Most of these are being used as part of a larger build, and other times just getting a texture added in the case of a vase or something.
I assume these people have a talent with being able to make animations o sculpties, but might not be as artistically gifted or have the desire to texture it or maybe just market it for sale to the sl community. So one of their big customers are businesses such as mine that buy these full permission with agreeing to their rules with using them. Has this been bad for sl as a whole, hell NO. It has giving store owners and creators better building blocks to use for their products, just look at the quality of furniture now compared to 2 years back.
What really bothers me are idiots that say to stop this just buy them and distribute them to the freebie warehouses. Its people like you that make this a bad thing, not the original person that sold it as a builders pack. Also, yes what you are doing is illegal if you do that.
Gary Windass
Apr 14th, 2009
“This backs up my theory that the value of all objects in Second Life inevitably trends towards zero”
This has always been my view too. With little or no production input costs and a limited level of inworld detail it inevitable that everything will eventually be either coppied or bettered by something much cheaper. Clothing and furniture creators are just fooling themselves and trying to bully the market into being less responsive. If 100 people use the same model shoe object and retexture it – just because you made one from scratch doesn’t make you a better person – if anything it reflects badly on you because you clearly have a lot of free time. And… with 100 variations floating around you will eventually find a) the best texture and b) the cheapest product. The reason you dislike these people is because through sheer numbers of creators participating in the market, products will eventually be made which are both better and cheaper than yours. There are some products that are very professionally made and SL may suffer as a result – but most of you creators are below mediocre and diserve to be squeezed out of the market. You tend to be petty, talentless and greedy. Grow up.
Sigmund Leominster
Apr 14th, 2009
Mmmh, if someone creates “something” and then openly offers it as an item that can be modified and resold, that’s perfectly legal. If the creator holds copyright (and they may not if what they “create” is generic) then he/she has the right to allow other to “Prepare derivative works based upon the work.”
The issue then becomes one of either poor business (giving away your rights to something that another person then makes a fortune out of) or limited creativity (they all look the same – how dull).
Whichever it is, it is very different from real IP theft, and just because it takes place in a virtual world doesn’t provide immunity from real world litigation – if you create stuff in SL, you DO have certain ownership rights, even if other folks think “it’s just a game.”
I expect to see more and more real world cases related to virtual world IP theft coming out over the next few years.
Isis Owatatsumi
Apr 15th, 2009
There is one maker dominating the full perm sculpty boots pack market..and it is sad to see them sold without any modifications.
I disagree that it hurts consumers.Its no different than RL . I can buy a knockoff handbag in midtown Manhatttan for $100 and then go to Chinatown and find it there for $50.. If I want the “real deal” I go to a trusted designer or department store.