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Second Life
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===Fraud and intellectual property protection=== Although Second Life's client and server incorporate [[Digital Rights Management]] technology, the visual data of an object must ultimately be sent to the client in order for it to be drawn; thus unofficial third-party clients can bypass them. One such program, [[CopyBot]], was developed in 2006 as a debugging tool to enable objects to be backed up, but was immediately hijacked for use in copying objects; additionally, programs that generally attack client-side processing of data, such as [[GLIntercept]], can copy certain pieces of data. Such use is prohibited under the Second Life TOS <ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.secondlife.com/2006/11/14/use-of-copybot-and-similar-tools-a-tos-violation/ |title=Use of CopyBot and Similar Tools a ToS Violation |publisher=[[Linden Lab]] |date=November 14, 2006 |accessdate = 2007-09-09 }}</ref> and could be prosecuted under the [[DMCA]]. Linden Lab may ban a user who is observed using CopyBot or a similar client, but it will not ban a user simply for uploading or even selling copied content; in this case, Linden Lab's enforcement of intellectual property law is limited to that required by the "safe harbor" provisions of the [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act]], which requires filing a real-life lawsuit. Although a few high-profile businesses in Second Life have filed such lawsuits,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/news/2006/05/70909 |title=Second Life Land Deal Goes Sour |publisher=Kathleen Craig |Wired.com |date=May 18, 2006 |accessdate = 2010-03-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/07/03/sl-business-sues-for-copyright-infringement/ |title=SL business sues for copyright infringement |publisher=Eric Reuters |Secondlife.Reuters.com |date=July 3, 2007 |accessdate=2008-03-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3517319/Second-Life-lawsuit-to-test-how-much-jurisdiction-courts-have-over-virtual-world.html |title=Second Life lawsuit to test how much jurisdiction courts have over virtual world |publisher=Urmee Khan |Telegraph.co.uk |date=November 25, 2008 |accessdate = 2010-03-14 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aR6xHcnBMn9M/ |title=Taser Sues Second Life Virtual World Creator Over Gun Sales |publisher=Erik Larson |Bloomberg.com |date=April 20, 2009 |accessdate = 2010-03-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://abovethelaw.com/2009/09/virtual_sex_toys.php |title=Lawsuit of the Day: Getting Off on Knock-off Virtual Sex Toys |publisher=Kashmir Hill |Abovethelaw.com |date=September 18, 2009 |accessdate = 2010-03-14}}</ref> none of the cases filed to date have gone to trial, and most have been dismissed pursuant to a settlement agreement reached between the parties.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://virtuallyblind.com/2007/10/04/bragg-linden-lab-settlement/ |title=Bragg v. Linden Lab - Confidential Settlement Reached; 'Marc Woebegone’ Back in Second Life |publisher=Benjamin Duranske |Virtuallyblind.com |date=October 4, 2007 |accessdate=2010-03-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://virtuallyblind.com/2007/12/03/kenzo-simon-settlement/ |title=Second Life Content Creators’ Lawsuit Against Thomas Simon (aka Avatar ‘Rase Kenzo’) Settles; Signed Consent Judgement Filed |publisher=Benjamin Duranske |Virtuallyblind.com |date=December 3, 2007 |accessdate=2008-10-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.massively.com/2009/05/06/taser-international-vs-linden-lab-lawsuit-dropped/ |title=Taser International vs Linden Lab: Lawsuit dropped! |publisher=Tateru Nino |Massively.com |date=May 6, 2009 |accessdate = 2010-03-14}}</ref> Overall, the majority of businesses in Second Life do not make enough money for a lawsuit to be worthwhile, or due to real-life work commitments, they cannot devote enough time to complete one. As a result, many Second Life businesses and their intellectual property remains effectively unprotected. The exception to this trend of dismissal via settlement agreement may be found in the matter of Eros, LLC v. Linden Research, Inc. As of March 2010, the case is currently pending in the Northern District Court of California awaiting a determination of whether the matter may be certified as a class action.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.3dinternetlaw.com/Blog/files/abd7f554a019b60ed9174a03c614c6f9-41.html |title=Eros v. Linden Update |publisher=3d Internet Law |date=January 30, 2010 |accessdate=2010-03-14}}</ref> There have also been issues with the use of false DMCA takedown notices.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://slfreshbakedgoods.blogspot.com/2008/09/sweet-justice.html |title=~*Fresh Baked Goods*~: Sweet Justice...? |publisher=Slfreshbakedgoods.blogspot.com |date=September 10, 2008 |accessdate=2008-10-27}}</ref> Once a DMCA takedown notice is served, reversing it requires an individual to expose his personal information to the filer (filing a notice does not require this); for the penalty of perjury to be enacted, a lawsuit is required (anything less, the false DMCA claimer can just claim it from a different account every week causing legitimate business unlimited losses). In addition, the technical process of removal and re-instatement of content on Second Life is subject to failure which can result in content becoming unusable to its owner. This does not effectively prevent content theft; a thief who is subject to a DMCA takedown notice will not challenge it, but will simply create a new account and re-upload the content, often releasing it with all permissions available to maximize propagation out of spite. Most users in the world as paying, private individuals are, likewise, effectively unprotected. Common forms of fraud taking place in-world include bogus investment and pyramid schemes, fake or hacked vendors, and failure to honor land rental agreements. Some residents have claimed that there is also a high incidence of sales of content to users unaware of its value (for example, weapons which would require the buyer to own a private island, as firing them in any other area would violate the terms of service; or avatars which appear to represent advanced roles (such as police or government officials) but which, in reality, are nothing more than party costumes due to the inability to support those roles in a world with free social behaviour{{Clarify|date=November 2009}}). A group of virtual landowners online have filed a class action lawsuit against the company, claiming the company broke the law when it rescinded their ownership rights. The plaintiffs say a change in the terms of service forced them to either accept new terms that rescinded their virtual property ownership rights, or else be locked out of the site.<ref>"Class Action Lawsuit Targets Second Life." CNET. 3 May 2010. Web. 4 May 2010. <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20004004-36.html>.</ref>
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