Linden Lab alters stance: will ban
As the Second Lifeblogger's strike comes to an end, Linden Lab has clarified the clarification to their new trademarks policy. This clarification is a good one. It is quite clear and well set out, and hits all the high points in a clear and deliberate fashion.
Despite any prior assurances to the contrary, yes, Linden Lab will apply the Terms of Service (section 4.4) to external violations of the brand center guidelines to ban accounts as a last resort, though it does make allowances for basics such as nominative use. This extends the Second Life terms of service to activities outside the virtual world for the first time, and for anyone who has logged in to Second Life since March 24.
Other high points in the document lay out that 'disparaging' use of the inSL brand mark is solely at Linden Lab's discretion; that SL is Linden Lab's mark exclusively for any "uses for or related to virtual world goods or services."
Bloggers and writers need not update usages published during past, more permissive rules, but must comply henceforth, or face the usual round of legal actions and possible account sanctions.
In this, Linden Lab has quashed one of the most prominent complaints about their new terms. That the Terms of Service said one thing, and Linden Lab said another. That has now been corrected, and Linden Lab's stated position is directly aligned with the Terms of Service.
That's not to say that you couldn't make a case in court for estoppel -- Linden Lab's changes will cost some people a pretty penny if Linden Lab won't provide written permission for them to continue. That's the sort of tort that estoppel is designed to deal with.
We await the reactions from the community of bloggers and businesses surrounding Second Life, with considerable interest.
