"Off Brand" copies of real brands is not ok.

[Coffee Pancake]

So many creators are uploading products copied directly from real world items and brands and changing one or two letters.

STOP IT 

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Intellectual_Property

Quote

Linden Lab responds to complaints that content infringes trademarked or celebrity material. Trademarked material includes trademarked logos, trademarked brand names, and trade dress, which is the distinctive visual appearance of a product or its packaging.

It is often difficult to tell what may or may not be trademarked or protected as trade dress. However, use of designer logos and brand names without permission, such as Gucci, Nike, Louis Vuiton, etc., is usually not acceptable. If you don't have permission, please don't just use a misspelling of the brand name, for example, "Njke" instead of "Nike" – instead, create your own original brand name that's associated uniquely with you!

If you're creating objects inspired by real-world objects, take care that your objects have an original appearance and shape. That's the best way to avoid trade dress issues. Be wary of imitating distinctive and recognizable product appearances. For example, the well-known appearance of the Eames lounge chair and ottoman from Herman Miller is protected under trade dress law.

 

 

 

[Fionalein]

And don't forget there have pretty weird successfull branding cases in courts (3 stripes for Adidas being most commonly known, but also stuff like 7 slots on the cooler grill for Jeep is a registered design)

Edited July 7, 2018 by Fionalein

[LittleMe Jewell]

This ended up in the General Discussion section within the Land Forum, which I don't think you probably wanted.  You might want to report your post to get it more to the regular General Discussion area.

[Coffee Pancake]

This is what happens when i'm only on my second cuppa.

[Klytyna]

On 07 July 2018 at 8:45 PM, CoffeeDujour said:

So many creators are uploading products copied directly from real world items and brands and changing one or two letters.

STOP IT

So much for my plan to get RL rich in SL by opening a "Col. Mc Kings Arkansas Grilled Turkey-Ham Nugget Burger" franchise chain...

I even had the marketing slogans written, just hadn't decided which one to use...

"So fresh, the Turkey-Pig doesn't know his nuggets are gone!"

"Look for the Golden Haunches Trademark, Crapping in the Mouths of the World since 1955"

...

Curses, foiled again, and I'd have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for that Pesky Coffee DuJour kid...  
 

[Callum Meriman]

But, But, But I wanted to make n1ke shoes!

[Coffee Pancake]

Do it and my furbo will chew them to pieces

[Klytyna]

6 minutes ago, Callum Meriman said:

But, But, But I wanted to make n1ke shoes!

Infringe my "Faddidas Crike Clown-Max Inflatable Designer Running Shoes (tm)" and I'll sue your yarn-ball to smithereens, cat-boy...  
 

[D4rkHax]

On 07/07/2018 at 8:45 PM, CoffeeDujour said:

So many creators are uploading products copied directly from real world items and brands and changing one or two letters.

STOP IT 

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Lab_Official:Intellectual_Property

 

 

 

I personally don't care. Not my issue, not my problem, not me that will get in trouble if anyone takes issue with it. I can think of much better things to be worried about than other people creating off brand copies of items in SL.

[Ceka Cianci]

If you are making it for yourself it's more than l;likely fine..It's when people go to selling those things is when they will come get you.

[Majestic Kohime]

One shoes shop been banned by LL after years.. for this reason.. then he is back now.. same person and continues to sell lacost, addidas and nike - like shoes with such logos, funny isnt it?

His direct competitor does same btw. Very successful!!! Participate in every event!! Congratz!

One other creator that is constantly attacking every competitor (with popuup messages on his sims and local chat shoutings, naming and shaming, of course) claiming they violate copyrights by using "copyrighted material as backgrounds for profuct blog photos) is himself specialized in tron bikes, disks, and Audi cars.

The IP mesh import tutorial is not applied ANY second. Dont tell me that 90% of second life users and LL dont know about this, those are the top SL brands, tho they are allowed do that.. Continue and even milking their own monopoly

Another fun stuff is that the payment on info for import mesh isnt applied anymore, means every  trash alt can import copirighted stuff or simply stuff they copied from other creatolrs within second life.

Reason???????

It is ridiculous, and clearly .... seriously go on the pro 3D platforms, ask them about "creating in second life" they will laugh at you for those very reasons.

 

Same with people that steal animations from other platforms.

I even recently saw a new SL shop specialized in selling 3D textures. 1800 produxcts, a texture: 50L$ (diffuse, normal specular).

The only problem is that they sell ONLY freebies from the net. SL people (the honnest ones) Contacted the real creator who is a deviant art user to tell him that 100% of his freebies were sold in SL he was sick and couldnt do anything ofc it was freebies!

Great quality and originals in SL, i have to admit that when i see such shop with freebie selling i dont want to waste half a day to create original 3D textures and sell in SL, this platform simply doesnt deserve i waste my time, since they allow freebie sellers to rule the actual market (and this WASNT thecase in past!!!)

Edited July 11, 2018 by Majestic Kohime

[Chase01]

They won't stop. Look beyond the known brands that are infringed upon. Content theft is everywhere in SL. How many creators have used stolen artwork to put in a picture frame that is then sold in their store and probably hanging in your living room. I'd go as far as saying that a lot of the imagery & design elements in tattoos are not licensed or original artwork. Funny how one well known tattoo maker called out someone for copybotting his work, yet many of his designs have been linked to ripped content online. Hypocritical isn't it.

and the list goes on and on... Without accountability, there is only free will.

[animats]

The answer is, we don't know when it's legal. BMW vs TurboSquid never went to trial because BMW withdrew the lawsuit.

There are relevant exceptions to copyright. Automotive parts are not generally copyrightable, which is why there's a third party auto parts industry. You can't copyright a functional part. That's what patents are for, and they're much narrower. This extends even to auto body parts. You can buy a third-party Chevy fender. The auto industry fought that in court decades ago and lost. They tried to get Congress to extend copyright to cover auto parts, and lost.

Emblems are a trademark matter, so putting a "Ford" logo on something without permission is a no-no.

There's a lot of overreach by rights holders in this area. There are some famous chairs which were once covered by design patents. But those expired long ago. A recent law change in the UK resurrected long-expired rights in furniture designs, but the US doesn't have that.  Despite this, some clone furniture makers get hassled. There's been an attempt to stretch the concept of "trade dress" to cover furniture designs, but that didn't fly in the US Supreme Court.

This area is complicated legally, but it is not the case that mere creation of the original object implies the unfettered right to prevent others from making models of it for use in a virtual world. Legal advice can be useful.

 

[Fionalein]

4 hours ago, animats said:

There's been an attempt to stretch the concept of "trade dress" to cover furniture designs, but that didn't fly in the US Supreme Court.

Is that so? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._v._Samsung_Electronics_Co.#Supreme_Court_decision_of_First_Trial

guess it is a matter of being a distinctive design or not...

Edited July 15, 2018 by Fionalein

[animats]

6 hours ago, Fionalein said:

Is that so? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._v._Samsung_Electronics_Co.#Supreme_Court_decision_of_First_Trial

guess it is a matter of being a distinctive design or not...

Those were design patent cases. That's different from copyright. And shorter term.

[Isla Darkfire]

849 days later...sorry!

I'm not a creator, I never will be, 1...I wouldn't have the brain for it, and 2...I'm a buyer who purchases all the cool things ye guys/girls make, but there's so much I'd love to get, especially metal shirts, I've seen some really bad ones on MP, wouldn't buy them even if they were good, but would there be an issue if I made tshirts of tshirts I already own? I've at least 50, probably 70 of them, going back to my original Mob Rules shirt (Sabbath) and Metallica Club 94 and 95 shirts, along with a gazillion more, I'd love to make them for myself in there, I'd be willing to show I have IRL what I made in SL for myself, nobody else, would LL have a freak out or what? example of 2 attached...yes I'm old sigh

 

I had to resize 2 pics coz of some file limit thing but attached those 2 also, so 4 attahched

[LittleMe Jewell]

7 minutes ago, Isla Darkfire said:

would there be an issue if I made tshirts of tshirts I already own? I've at least 50, probably 70 of them, going back to my original Mob Rules shirt (Sabbath) and Metallica Club 94 and 95 shirts, along with a gazillion more, I'd love to make them for myself in there, I'd be willing to show I have IRL what I made in SL for myself, nobody else, would LL have a freak out or what? example of 2 attached...yes I'm old sigh

If you never tried to sell them, you would probably be okay.  

[Chic Aeon]

35 minutes ago, Isla Darkfire said:

849 days later...sorry!

I'm not a creator, I never will be, 1...I wouldn't have the brain for it, and 2...I'm a buyer who purchases all the cool things ye guys/girls make, but there's so much I'd love to get, especially metal shirts, I've seen some really bad ones on MP, wouldn't buy them even if they were good, but would there be an issue if I made tshirts of tshirts I already own? I've at least 50, probably 70 of them, going back to my original Mob Rules shirt (Sabbath) and Metallica Club 94 and 95 shirts, along with a gazillion more, I'd love to make them for myself in there, I'd be willing to show I have IRL what I made in SL for myself, nobody else, would LL have a freak out or what? example of 2 attached...yes I'm old sigh

 

I had to resize 2 pics coz of some file limit thing but attached those 2 also, so 4 attahched

You can read the TOS for yourself.  It clearly states (and we used to have a Mesh Upload Test that went over this many times because uploading illegal things was rampant with mesh) that you cannot use any copyrighted material, trade marks etc.   Whether you get caught and kicked off SL isn't exactly the issue. Unless you have permission from the original creator you should not upload it.  

 

You bought that shirt in real life. You didn't buy the right to use the art on that shirt for your own purposes -- real life or virtual.  IF you have a creative commons zero bit of art, then it would be OK as the creator gave away the rights to their work. What you are showing is not. 

[Ultima Cloud]

14 hours ago, Chic Aeon said:

 

 

You bought that shirt in real life. You didn't buy the right to use the art on that shirt for your own purposes -- real life or virtual.  

Strange because whenever I buy anything real or virtual I sure do have the right do with it as I please. I can buy a shirt, frame it for whatever reason and display on the front of my house with bright lights and all. I can buy a Kia, take the engine out and put a hamster wheel in it. You can use anything for your own purposes. You just can't sell or profit off it in any way. 

Edited November 11, 2020 by Ultimo Constantineau

[Chic Aeon]

1 hour ago, Ultimo Constantineau said:

Strange because whenever I buy anything real or virtual I sure do have the right do with it as I please. I can buy a shirt, frame it for whatever reason and display on the front of my house with bright lights and all. I can buy a Kia, take the engine out and put a hamster wheel in it. You can use anything for your own purposes. You just can't sell or profit off it in any way. 

In all your scenarios above you are not REPRODUCING THE ORIGINAL ITEM.    I am sure some research will clarify the differences for you if you care to look into it more.   

[Ultima Cloud]

35 minutes ago, Chic Aeon said:

In all your scenarios above you are not REPRODUCING THE ORIGINAL ITEM.    I am sure some research will clarify the differences for you if you care to look into it more.   

I have done research.

https://ogc.harvard.edu/pages/copyright-and-fair-use

You should look up the fair use clause. As well as cases where judges have set precedent on it. 

https://fairuse.stanford.edu/2014/12/22/much-photo-need-alter-avoid-copyright-infringement-hint-cheshire-cat/

PS: I was replying to your quote "You didn't buy the right to use the art on that shirt for your own purposes -- real life or virtual.".  You did not use the term "copy" or "reproduce". You used the term "use". So yes my examples were not examples of reproduction.

If we are not allowed to make a copy for our own personal use then why do we have copy machines in libraries?

Edited November 11, 2020 by Ultimo Constantineau

[Ultima Cloud]

edit: meant to be an edit.

Edited November 11, 2020 by Ultimo Constantineau

[Alwin Alcott]

1 hour ago, Ultimo Constantineau said:

If we are not allowed to make a copy for our own personal use then why do we have copy machines in libraries?

in many coutries, at least in europe, people with public copiers, or in companies, pay a annual tax/fee for  copyrights for home use.

[Chic Aeon]

1 hour ago, Alwin Alcott said:

in many coutries, at least in europe, people with public copiers, or in companies, pay a annual tax/fee for  copyrights for home use.

Good to know. TY.  There is still the Linden Lab TOS in the mix however (not arguing with "you" :D).   

[Ultima Cloud]

50 minutes ago, Chic Aeon said:

Good to know. TY.  There is still the Linden Lab TOS in the mix however (not arguing with "you" :D).   

Yes ToS but SL doesn't sweep for potential copyrighted material. The TOS is really there just the protect them which is absolutely their right to do. I tnink if they did sweep for copyrighted material we'd lose like half the inventory in the marketplace. As for other countries law I am not sure if they come into play since you do not have possession of the virtual property in said country, it's on a server somewhere in the US. But I haven't referenced this idea so it's merely an uneducated opinion.

I was just trying to point out the term "use" because it's very important when it comes to copyright. Yes according to copyright law you shouldn't copy something that is copyrighted but with the fair use clause the odds you being found guilty of something illegal or found liable for it is slim to none. Cases have already established that precedent for use. And if someone were to challenge you for using something you copied in a virtual realm they would risk setting precedent there as well. So it's not even worth it for someone who is just using something.

As far as walking around SL with a shirt you made with copyrighted material, I doubt you will pop up on their radar at all even if you were standing directly across from a Linden wearing it. If you began to sell it then yes maybe. But even with that, there's an event using a popular trademark name so I kind of doubt even that would pop up on SL radar unless someone brought it to their attention. Which, according to SL's own policy,  can only be done by the party who owns the copyright.

Edited November 11, 2020 by Ultimo Constantineau