June 6th, 2007
Virtual land beef moves to realworld court
A lawsuit over virtual property is being played out in a very real courtroom as a Pennsylvania judge has denied two motions by Linden Labs, creators of Second Life, to allow them to shut down an attorney’s account, reports Ars Technica.
Pennsylvania attorney Marc Bragg says his Second Life property is worth thousands of dollars and has accused Linden Labs and CEO Philip Rosedale of wrongfully seizing his virtual land by shutting down his account. He’s asking the public to help fund his legal battle.
“I am reaching out to you that wish to help support this case and assist me in deflecting some of the substantial costs that could arise from these acts,” pleaded Bragg on his law office’s web site. “The issues being litigated are important to many people participating in Second Life, as well as MMORPGs generally, and they should not be abandoned simply because the Defendants succeed by stretching the financial resources of a single man.”
Linden Labs says that things like virtual clothing, buildings, and land belong to the residents who created or purchased them. Linden Lab sells “land” or server-space to residents of Second Life via auctions. Linden Labs claims that Bragg came into possession of his land wrongfully as the property Bragg bought was not yet available on the main auction page.
Bragg accessed it by changing out the ID number in a URL for an auction that was public for one that wasn’t. He purchased the “land” for far below market value before before the auction ever officially started. The motion to dismiss the suit was on the grounds of a lack of personal jurisdiction Second Life is a business that operates across multiple states by virtue of operating on the Internet, and therefore the complaints can be heard outside of California. The judge also dismissed a motion to compel arbitration.
