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I actually wrote a big article on Second Life this time last year for my International Law class, because Second Life really pushes the limits in respect to jurisdiction and presents some really interesting issues because Second Life acknowledges that all of the content users create is their own intellectual property as opposed to Worlds of Warcraft, which says its theirs. I actually spoke with the guy at American Apparel responsible for taking them into Second Life (they were the first major company to take up residence there), and a lot of the copyright and trademark issues are really interesting. Also, there is a woman named Anshe Chung who purportedly made well over a million dollars in profits from the buying and selling of Second Life properties. Lastly, and perhaps the most interesting...there is a massive push for the recognition of virtual property as something distinct from intellectual or real or personal property, protecting things such as an email address or land owned in a virtual world. Why you might ask? A few years ago a kid that was gold farming (playing with virtual weapons in Worlds of Warcraft to increase their value then sell it off) killed someone who borrowed his virtual sword then sold it.
I don't play video games whatsoever (except maybe wii) and never had more than a gameboy, so all of this stuff amuses me. I do have a SL screen name (Jarvik Karski), but I've not played it since last year when I was writing this piece, and I could never figure it out.
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