"Second Life" Parent Linden Lab Sued by Virtual Sex Items Maker

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 18, 2009 - 11:07am.

San Francisco - Linden Lab, operators of the "Second Life" virtual world, have been sued in federal court by a maker of adult-themed virtual items for copyright and trademark infringement, Wired.com reported.

Eros LLC, developers of SexGen-branded virtual sex-related items sold in Second Life, said in its lawsuit that "those merchants who sell cheap, imitation knockoffs bearing the SexGen mark harm Eros by causing further confusion among consumers when the products they purchased do not function in the ways they expect SexGen products to function."

The company's lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, argues that Second Life should not be protected by the "takedown notice" protocol laid out for copyright holders' complaints in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), because Second Life has not taken proactive steps to prevent infringement.

Linden Lab declined to comment on the litigation for Wired.com.

http://snipurl.com/rz081 (SexGen product line)

http://www.secondlife.com