frank-taney
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Taney to talk trademarks
With Linden Lab's 90-day grace period on trademark usage approaching in late June, United States attorney Frank Taney of Philadelphia law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC will be giving a talk and Q&A session in Second Life on Trademarks for Virtual World Related Businesses on 6 June from 2:30PM to 4PM SLT (US Pacific time). Topics covered will include the use of trademarks to build value in a virtual world brand, Linden Lab's trademark policy, proper use of trademarks, and avoidance of trademark infringement. The talk will be hosted by FilpperPA Peregrine (Timothy Allen) at the UBM Think Services Auditorium, and will be simulcast on the Web via World2Worlds.com. This will be an SL voice session. Taney is well-known among Second Life users for his representation of Second Life users in intellectual property issues over the last year.
Linden Lab asserts control of names and images
When Linden Lab chooses to shake things up, it doesn't do it by half-measures. Easter Monday saw an announcement by Linden Lab that they were introducing a new Second Life logo program, and changing the terms under which various words and images are presented. Unfortunately, we technically can't show you the new logo, since by all rights we have to go through the application process first. Actually, after reading all the terms and conditions a bunch of times, we are not sure that we're even allowed to mention its name. It's inSL, anyway. We'll let the company lawyers sort through the paperwork.
Robert Leatherwood is a loser, settles with Eros LLC
Texan teen, Robert Leatherwood, has settled the Second Life copyright violation lawsuit with Eros LLC, finally having admitted to also being Volkov Cattaneo - which he had previously repeatedly denied as Cattaneo, while simultaneously mocking the case against him and admitting wrongdoing and copyright violation. As Leatherwood failed to lift a finger in his defense -- not even responding to papers served -- the court handed down a default against Leatherwood, essentially making him the loser, regardless.
Simon says: yes to settlement, this time
Rase Kenzo (aka Thomas Simon) has pulled a 180, and accepted a settlement offered by Frank Taney, the lawyer representing six well-known Second Life content creators. One of the conditions of the settlement is that everyone keeps quiet about the whole thing - however the terms of the settlement that have been presented to the court for approval are available.
Default entered against Leatherwood
Eros LLC has won its case against Texan teenager, Robert Leatherwood (who may or may not be avatar Volkov Cattaneo - it actually no longer matters now if he is or isn't). Two weeks ago we reported that Leatherwood had failed to respond to the papers served to him in October, and that lawyer Frank Taney (representing plaintiff Eros LLC) was petitioning the court for default judgement.
Simon says: no to settlement
Rase Kenzo (aka Thomas Simon) has rejected settlement with the parties represented by lawyer Frank Taney. The settlement offer involved $2,000USD compensation to each of the six plaintiffs, and $5,000USD in legal fees. It probably doesn't get much cheaper than that, in the USA. Nevertheless, Kenzo has rejected the settlement, indicating that he thinks it's too much, and besides, he doesn't have the money. Instead, he's opting for a potentially much more expensive court case - though he is trying to find a lawyer who will take the case pro-bono.
Leatherwood misses response deadlines. Likely win for Eros LLC
Texan teen, Robert Leatherwood, who is being sued by Eros LLC as being behind the avatar Volkov Cattaneo, has failed to respond to papers served to him last month. Eros LLC's attorney, Frank Taney is petitioning the court for a default verdict. In many cases, if you fail to respond or appear, you lose. The default judgement would run at a bit over two thousand US dollars, plus costs. If you're wondering what all this is about, allow me to sum it up.
