Second Life Mogul Challenges Press Freedom

An anonymous reader tipped us to a post on ZDNet about some disturbing freedom of the press issues in Second Life. Content mogul Anshe Chung is filing DMCA complaints with organizations that post screenshots of her content, citing an infringement of copyright. From the article: "The issue has surfaced after the avatar Anshe Chung (real name Ailin Graef) was attacked by animated flying penises during a virtual interview with CNET news, conducted in their Second Life bureau last month. A video of the attack surfaced on YouTube, and was then taken town after Anshe Chung Studios filed a DMCA complaint. The Sydney Morning Herald and the blog BoingBoing have also received similar notices."

Pshaw.

[lysdexia]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5387867190 768022577&q=Anshe+Chung [google.com]

I'm still here you bastards!

The Google Video Version, and Something Awful

[Mantrid42]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5387867190 768022577&sourceid=docidfeed&hl=en [google.com]

Theres the video on Google Video.

And a week or so back, Something Awful's "Second Life Safari" documented it: http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=4336 [somethingawful.com]

privacy in the virtual world

[abigsmurf]

In real life, most countries accept that you have a right to privacy in your own home (there are a few exceptions but most of those involve crimes being committed). You have to invite people in for them to be sound legally to film. However it's easy to impose conditions on entry that visitors have to agree on, one being that all photography has to be approved and ok'd before publishing.

It's one of the things art museums and some attractions at themeparks often like doing so they can sell you £2.50 postcards (it's for the protection of the exhibits, honest!).

However this often interferes with public interest which is a freedom granted to the press. Does public interest outweigh a private civil agreement made? I'm not a lawyer, I haven't a clue but it must've sparked a fair few expensive trials.

Re:The Google Video Version, and Something Awful

[Petey_Alchemist]

Documented it? That is the source of all the images. Steve Hutcheon of the SMH asked me if he could use my graphics to make a composite image. I gave him permission, and all the other news companies just decided to use his.

I don't really care. It's funny one way or the other.

Re:Just how..

[vadim_t]

In-game scripting. You create objects with an in-game 3D editor, then put a script in it that makes it fly around.

Note that it's perfectly possible for the owner of an area to disable object creation and scripts in it.

Heh

[Xenographic]

If it wasn't for this stupid DMCA notice, I doubt I'd have ever known or cared about this video. Now everyone knows about it and millions of people will make copies of this just out of spite. Hasn't anyone learned this by now?

This level of 'brillance' is worthy of Paula.

Can't take a joke department?

[Petey_Alchemist]

If you think THAT'S bad, check out what happened when a Linden Labs employee tried to get me to take down photos [somethingawful.com] of his "mate's" babyfur child porn.

Or maybe every instance that Prokofy Neva has called me a virtual Leninist griefing scum terrorist or whatever else has been on her litany of overreactions.

Re:Pshaw.

[sethstorm]

I'm here [youtube.com] too.
(yes, it's Youtube, but feel free to wget this with a modified user agent to mirror.) [google.com]

Re:Stupid.

[Reaperducer]

Not entirely correct. As I recall, it was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that sued over a guy distributing posters, and in fact they lost because there is a very specific part of copyright law that covers this:

 
United States Code - Title 17 - Chapter 1 - Section 120
Scope of exclusive rights in architectural works

                (a) Pictorial Representations Permitted. - The copyright in an architectural work that has been constructed does not include the right to prevent the making, distributing, or public display of pictures, paintings, photographs, or other pictorial representations of the work, if the building in which the work is embodied is located in or ordinarily visible from a public place.

 
( as quoted by http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/ [glasssteelandstone.com] )

Here's a copy of the court ruling in the defendant's (poster making guy) favor:

http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/cases/IP/trademark/rock _and_roll.htm [lsu.edu]

Reminds me of Michael Crook DMCA notice

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe Michael Crook did the same thing with 10zenmonkeys when they show a pic of him while he was interviewed by Fox News. He tried to pull the same DMCA crap and the EFF is suing. Hopefully the out come of the case would set a precedence and let people know that this kind of crap won't work. See: http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2006/09/18/in-the-comp any-of-jerkoffs/ [10zenmonkeys.com], http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2006/11/01/eff-crook-d mca-lawsuit/ [10zenmonkeys.com]

This Anshe Chung/Ailin Graef is just as bad as Michael Crook.

Re:Ethically valid

[dr.badass]

The very idea of a flying penis scares the hell out of me.

My high-school Latin teacher used every opportunity to remind the class that in ancient Rome, a winged phallus was a symbol of luck and protection.

Just thought you might want to know, in case you start having nightmares or something.

Re:Ethically valid

[Criterion]

Just checking to see if you realize that this person.. whom you are so concerned about the dignity of.. started her SL career as a hooker.

Re:Unreal: Zoning Restrictions.

[Criterion]

Because it's less expensive, and you have a nicer environment to call your virtual home.

To buy land from LL you have to look at this breakdown.. first off you have to have a premium membership, which is $9.95 a month if you pay monthly - $7.50 month quarterly or $6.00 month anually, which is offset somewhat by a weekly stipend of (currently) 300L which equates to aprox $57 a year. With a premium membership, you recieve free tier of 512 sq meters of land which will support 114 prims. This means you only have to buy the land, which if you're lucky first land (land which can only be bought by an av as it's first purchase of land) will come available to you for L$512 (512 lots will normally be seen going for L$5k-9k). Note that first land has been really scarce nowadays, and the landbarons are using every trick in the book to obtain them. So, the first piece of land seems cheap enough, and maintenance is free on it, but there is still the money you are paying every month to have the privelege of "owning" this very, very tiny, peice of land. Sooooo... you buy more (cuz it's hard to make anything nice with only 114 prim allowance) paying some very outrageous prices for land right now as we are in the midst of a serious land bubble. Ok, you've spent 10's or 100's of thousands of Linden (or equivelant cash) for your spot of land that is large enough to support a nice build for yourself. Here come the maintenance fees (known as tier)... $5 a month for an extra 512, up to pretty much whatever you want to pay. A relevent example.. an extra 4096 is $25 tier, which in addition to the free 512 give you aproximately the same prim allowance I have on the land I rent, right around 1k prims. I pay the equiveland of around $18 rent for my place, instead of the $26.5 to $35 a month fees plus purchase of land outright. Now.. if you're not a land baron, why would you buy land instead of renting?