First Known Legal Case in Second Life

Wow, we all knew it would happen. A couple of years ago, I blogged about the presence of law firms and the emergence of legal issues within the virtual world. And I recently chanced upon this report by SF Gate (shamelessly reproduced because I like how it's written:)



Like so many things, virtual law started with sex. Specifically, the first known legal case originating in a virtual world was over a bed designed for rolls in the virtual hay.
Eros vs. Volkov Catteneo was not unlike business dustups that happen in the real world every day. One person created something and sold it, and another person allegedly copied it and sold cheap knockoffs.
The only thing novel about this case is that the item in question was a piece of furniture made entirely of computer code, and it was bought and sold by 3-D avatars in Second Life, a virtual world run by San Francisco's Linden Lab.



Second Life user Kevin Alderman of Lutz, Fla., created the very interactive bed, which enabled avatars to engage in a range of activities (cuddling, more). But when another user started selling copies, Alderman hired real-life lawyer Francis Taney, who tracked down the real person behind the bed-copying avatar and secured a consent judgment from Florida's U.S. District Court ordering him to quit.
This happened in March 2008, and since then, Taney, of the Philadelphia office of law firm Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, says that he has devoted 20 to 30 percent of his practice to virtual law, or disputes that happen in virtual worlds such as Second Life.
He's not alone. Although the courts have seen only a few such disputes so far, a number of law firms have created practices focused on virtual worlds and video games, or set up offices within Second Life itself.
Benjamin Duranske, who recently joined the Silicon Valley office of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman to help build such a practice, even wrote a book on the field, "Virtual Law: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Virtual Worlds."
"It's an emerging area of law, which is really a treat for attorneys, because the law (in other areas) is somewhat stable," Duranske said.
Occasionally these attorneys deal with disputes that arise inside multiplayer video games, such as World of Warcraft. But most often, these attorneys are focused on Second Life, a free-to-join 3-D environment that looks like a video game except that it has no set goals, nothing to win or lose. People log on to hang out, do business and hook up (hence the popularity of Alderman's sex bed).
Besides its lack of missions and scores, what distinguishes Second Life from video games is that Linden allows users to buy virtual property and create objects that are protected by intellectual property rights.

Law + Technology = Fewer Lawyers? - Richard Susskind at Radio Berkman

More from Richard Susskind from Radio Berkman (which is the podcast production arm of Berkman Center for Internet and Society):

Law + Technology = Fewer Lawyers

If you like the idea of the above equation, well, you are either looking forward to a Robot vs. Lawyer stand-off, or, like today's guest, you simply believe that law can be made better and more efficient through the use of software and applications to streamline repetitive legal tasks. Richard Susskind is the IT adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and author of the recently published (and provocatively titled) The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services. He recently sat down with the Berkman Center's Brock Rutter to chat about how technology might be able to simultaneously make the work of lawyers more efficient, reduce overhead costs, and improve access to justice.

Many similar points from his presentation last month, but worth listening for the DJ's facilitation. Main points:

- Much legal work will be automated, outsourced, or even handed over to end-users
- Technology can drive lawyers out of jobs, but also create many new opportunities (such as access to justice for the poor)
- Lawyers will still have a role over the creation of these systems: lawyers will not disappear, but will take on different roles. 
- Emphasis will go away from one-on-one traditional direct consultation, but via cheaper tools created or maintained by lawyers. For example: online compliance, decision tree for online document creation, end-users input through Web 2.0 interaction. 
- Lawyers will deal more with high level programmers through new ideas of providing services

The Hague hosts the European launch of 'Making The Law Work for Everyone'

On 25 May, the Peace Palace in The Hague hosted the European launch of the UN Commission of the Legal Empowerment of the Poor report, Making the Law Work for Everyone (see my previous post), organised by the Hague Academic Coalition in partnership with theHague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law, Tilburg University, the Institute for Social Studies and the Centre for International Legal Cooperation. Along with various international experts and policy-makers, former US Secretary of State and co-chair of the Commission, Madeleine K. Albright spoke on the need to empower the poor through legal rights.

Microjustice Web Portal Launched

In addition to the mircojustice4all website, as well as Micojustice in Bolivia and now Peru, the microjustice folks have created a portal to all things microjustice at http://www.microjustice.org/. Hmmm.... here's hoping that maybe at some point in the future, I will be listed there as well! :)

(Updated 2/27/10) Here are the resources listed so far:

WELCOME TO MICROJUSTICE

Microjustice links
International Legal Alliances (ILA) Microjustice for All | www.microjustice4all.org
Coordinating and network organisation for implementation of microjustice country programs, implementing microjustice in the field.
Microjusticia Bolivia www.microjusticiabolivia.org
Country Program implementing microjustice in Bolivia
Microjusticia PerĂº www.microjusticiaperu.org
Country program implementing microjustice in Peru
Micro Justice Initiative www.microjusticeinitiative.com
Platform for microjustice
Tilburg University | www.tilburguniversity.nl/TISCO
Conducting research in dispute resolution system design.
UNDP Legal Empowerment of the Poor | http://www.undp.org/legalempowerment/
Report of the UN Commission for the Legal Empowerment of the Poor

First Second Life Law Suit!

Wow, some time ago, I blogged briefly about the presence of law firms in Second Life as well as possible emerging legal issues WITHIN the virtual world. I've since left that virtual life (I believe my Avatar is still standing immobile somewhere), because of my real travelling life, but I chanced upon this story recently. I didn't know that there was a real case started last year with a cause of action arising in Second Life:

(reproduced from SF Gate's brief here:)


Like so many things, virtual law started with sex. Specifically, the first known legal case originating in a virtual world was over a bed designed for rolls in the virtual hay.
Eros vs. Volkov Catteneo was not unlike business dustups that happen in the real world every day. One person created something and sold it, and another person allegedly copied it and sold cheap knockoffs.
The only thing novel about this case is that the item in question was a piece of furniture made entirely of computer code, and it was bought and sold by 3-D avatars in Second Life, a virtual world run by San Francisco's Linden Lab.
Second Life user Kevin Alderman of Lutz, Fla., created the very interactive bed, which enabled avatars to engage in a range of activities (cuddling, more). But when another user started selling copies, Alderman hired real-life lawyer Francis Taney, who tracked down the real person behind the bed-copying avatar and secured a consent judgment from Florida's U.S. District Court ordering him to quit.
This happened in March 2008, and since then, Taney, of the Philadelphia office of law firm Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, says that he has devoted 20 to 30 percent of his practice to virtual law, or disputes that happen in virtual worlds such as Second Life.
He's not alone. Although the courts have seen only a few such disputes so far, a number of law firms have created practices focused on virtual worlds and video games, or set up offices within Second Life itself.
Benjamin Duranske, who recently joined the Silicon Valley office of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman to help build such a practice, even wrote a book on the field, "Virtual Law: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Virtual Worlds."
"It's an emerging area of law, which is really a treat for attorneys, because the law (in other areas) is somewhat stable," Duranske said.
Occasionally these attorneys deal with disputes that arise inside multiplayer video games, such as World of Warcraft. But most often, these attorneys are focused on Second Life, a free-to-join 3-D environment that looks like a video game except that it has no set goals, nothing to win or lose. People log on to hang out, do business and hook up (hence the popularity of Alderman's sex bed).
Besides its lack of missions and scores, what distinguishes Second Life from video games is that Linden allows users to buy virtual property and create objects that are protected by intellectual property rights.