Miniature Horse Avatar

 

When going about Second Life, you often see avatars that get your attention. But going about getting pet food, yours truly saw one I haven't seen before, a tiny horse avatar.

 

Messaging the little filly, she was appreciative for the attention, "Breeders Choice gifted them to the first handful of people that bought their brand new mesh horse avatar (back when mesh horses were brand new) so you probably won't see them around really at all. I think they had them in a lucky chair after that for a VERY short period of time. ... This is my favorite avatar to wear to Amaretto auctions."

 

The filly mentioned Amaretto Horses would be having their fifteenth anniversary event on September first and planned to be there. So if you want to see a tiny horse check out there and then. 

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

Farewell, Silver Fire

Last year, Wesley Regenbogen got a breedable horse as a pet in Second Life. It grew up, and eventually he learned to ride it. But nothing lasts forever. Wesley's horse is gone. He shares a few words as to what happened.

Read more in Extra.

Virtual Horseback Riding

So whatever happened to Wesley Regenbogen's new pony? Well, it didn't take long for the critter to grow up. And what does one do with a grown horse? Well, ride it. So Hope Dreamscape showed up to help him with his first horseback ride. So how did it go?

Read Wesley's account in Extra.

Commentary: Silver Fire - My Virtual Horse in Second Life

Wesley Regenbogen has been doing a little "horsing around" in Second Life lately. He recently came across a pet breedable horse, and had a few things to say about how he got it and what he feels about the idea.

Read Wesley's commentary in Design.

Judge Issues Summary Judgement in Amaretto vs Ozimals Suit

It's been almost two years since Ozimals, the creators of the breedable bunny that was all the rage in Second Life for a time, ended up in court against Amaretto, known for it's horses that remain popular today. For those who don't remember, the trouble began in December 2010 when Ozimals filed a DMCA against Amaretto saying the scripts for Amaretto horses resembled those of Ozimals bunnies, and Amaretto responded with a counter-DMCA and copyright lawsuit. Later, the judge issued a temporary restraining order on Linden Lab against issuing a DMCA on Amaretto. The following month, he “granted an injunction that only applies to Ozimals' sending of takedown notices and makes no reference to restrictions on Second Life.”

The "bunneh versus horsie" lawsuit, which besides being a real life case involving virtual goods had the distinction of being presided by Charles R. Breyer, the brother of a Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer (Hamlet Au mused that there's likely to be a few jokes about the case in family conversation over the Holidays). Following the injunction in January 2011, nothing was heard about the case until this month. Tateru Nino reported that on November 5th, Judge Breyer made a summary judgement on the case.


Ozimals lacks standing to pursue its counterclaim, and so the Court GRANTS IN PART Amaretto’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to the counterclaim. Because Amaretto has not established a reasonable likelihood of facing copyright infringement liability, the Court finds that Amaretto lacks standing to pursue its remaining claims; it also finds that the possibility of harm is so speculative that the Court would not exercise its discretion to rule on he declaratory relief claims even if the threshold standing requirements were met. Accordingly, the Court DENIES IN PART Amaretto’s motion for summary judgment as to the declaratory judgment and copyright misuse claims, and DISMISSES those claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.


Amaretto claims the ruling as a victory for them, posting the "ruling vindicates Amaretto and permanently prevents Ozimals from asserting its previously claimed copyright on Amaretto or any other entity." There has been no comment on the Ozimals blog.

Hamlet Au's article on the case got number of comments, including one by Pussycat Catnip, whom remarked, "Summary judgements are ultra rare. They only occur when the situation is so obvious, the court finds there is no need for a trial. That's something Courts normally cannot Constitutionally do. To get one, the other side has to have essentially conceded the floor. ... whatever evidence was put forth, was deemed worthless."

It seems that this case is all but over, Tateru thinking, "it doesn’t look like Judge Breyer is going to have all that much left to rule on to finalize this case. It may drag on a little longer, but not that much longer ..." The general opinion on the Grid seems to have been that Ozimals had started the mess to begin with due to its market crash after months of being wildly popular, and went after the new top breedable pet by trying to use the power of the Lindens.

Hamlet Au thought that this case would establish a precedent for similar cases. Though this was a case in which the evidence was "worthless." One in which the accuser has a more solid claim is likely to go in it's own direction.

Sources: Tateru Nino, Hamlet Au

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day: "When Horses Fly"

Lately my partner Jasmine's been raising Amaretto horses. And recently they've come out with a winged variety. But what they didn't tell her: the critters on occasion take off from the ground. And one day while at the ranch, we saw this.

"Horses do fly!" Okay, now that this is happening, we can we expect a balanced budget, a lag-free Second Life, etc.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Scenes from Second Life

This scene was posted on Facebook by Minx Destiny

"Found them like this. Who says Ozimal and Amaretto can't get along?"

Update on the Ozimals vs Amaretto Legal Fight

New World Notes recently reported on a new development in the legal brawl between Ozimals and Amaretto. The trouble began in December 2010 when Ozimals filed a DMCA against Amaretto saying the scripts for Amaretto horses resembled those of Ozimals bunnies, and Amaretto responded with a counter-DMCA and copyright lawsuit. Later, the judge issued a temporary restraining order on Linden Lab against issuing a DMCA on Amaretto, which legal Blogger Eric Goldman called “a bizarre twist.” he felt it brought up legal questions about Linden Labs and it’s ability to control content.

Since then, the court has “granted an injunction that only applies to Ozimals' sending of takedown notices and makes no reference to restrictions on Second Life.” Perhaps another victory for the horses, but the legal dispute hasn’t ended, “Although this ends the most interesting angle of the dispute, the bunnies vs. horses dispute remains pretty interesting on its own. Normally, I would expect a dispute like that to get resolved quickly. I'm a little baffled how the revenue streams from these virtual animals can profitably support full-scale litigation warfare. Unfortunately, the parties seem to be going down that path.”

There have been no further comments on the feud on either of the petmakers websites. Ozimals was celebrating it’s first anniversary, and offering a bunny as one of the gifts for the Helping Hands charity. Amaretto mentioned trouble in the form of an “Amarettocheats” website. spreading drama, and a bug resulting in sick horses.

To add to the confusion, there was an incident at the Amaretto barn reported by New World Notes, in which a number of residents picketed the place in a farcical protest, saying it was animal abuse and depravity to force the virtual horses in “underage” breeding and sell them, invoking the name of religion. This was almost certainly unrelated to the legal mess, but it was certainly one strange distraction from it.

"Curiouser and Curiouser."

Sources: New World Notes, Tech & Marketing Blog

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

In his article about the Amaretto/Ozimals legal dispute, Hamlet Au decided to have a little bit of funnery using one of SL Newser reporter Shellie Sands' photos from an article on the horses from some months ago.

Guess Hamlet's been "horsing around" with our pictures. ;-)

Judge Issues Amaretto Temporary Restraining Order Against Linden Lab in Legal Fight With Ozimals

The horses won, at least for now, in their battle with the bunnies.

In late December, Ozimals and Amaretto were heading to court over Ozimals’ claim the scripts for Amaretto’s horses had segments copied from their bunnies. On December 21, the judge over the case issued a temporary restraining order against Linden Lab, saying they could not impose a DMCA on the horse company, at least for now.

“... software copyright protection does not apply to functionality. Thus even if (Ozimals) was the first to come up with a virtual animal that requires ‘food’ to ‘live,’ and copyright it has does not prevent another company from marketing virtual animals with similar traits provided, essentially, that that company did not copy (Ozimals’) programing. Because, among other things, (Amaretto) has submitted declarations supporting the conlusion that it did not copy or otherwise ‘steal’ (Ozimals’) code (and that (Ozimals) knew this to be true when it filed the DMCA takedown notification). ... “

Eric Goldman, a law professor, had a few comments on his blog. He questioned why the ruling was made against Linden Lab and not Ozimals, saying this raised First Amendment issues of the Linden’s ability to edit the Grid. In any event, the restraining order lasts until January 11, when the court holds further hearings on Amaretto’s case.

On another note, Hamlet Au noted the judge in the case, Charles R. Bryer, was an assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, which took part in the case that caused the sole resignation of a US President in it’s entire history, “Wonder how he feels in the twilight of his legal career adjudicating a dispute between virtual bunnies and horsies?“

Sources, New World Notes, Eric Goldman Tech & Market Law Blog

Bixyl Shuftan

Ozimals and Amaretto Ranch Breedables in Legal Fight

Virtual pets have been a part of Second Life for quite some time. Earlier this year, the Ozimals company was noted for their popular breedable bunnies. For a time, their bunnies were all the rage on the Grid, people breeding them for popular colors and putting them up for auction. In October, they made a marketing deal with Linden Lab, which sent out some promotional offers for them. Then Amaretto horses appeared on the scene, with horses that are also breedable, starting off as small foals that soon grow up and can also be ridden by avatars.

Recently, the two companies have been involved in a legal fight. It began when Ozimals demanded Amaretto stop selling the horses in a “cease and desist letter threatening to file a DMCA,” saying parts of the scripts were copies of the code used in the bunnies. Amaretto. Amaretto refused, and Ozimals fled a DMCA notice with Linden Lab. Amaretto soon responded with a counter-DMCA and copyright lawsuit.


Legal demands over Second Life products are nothing new. Just weeks ago, Universal Studios ordered a number of product makers to change the names of “Battlestar Galacitca” products, saying they were infringing on their copyright. A few years ago was the noted case of a sex bed company Strokerz being sued by several individuals led by the Eros company. But it was the company owner taken to court, not the company. The Ozimals and Amaretto fight is probably the first legal dispute in which both plaintiff and defendant are two registered companies whose revenue is made within Second Life.

Both Ozimals and Amaretto say they regret the matter has come to this, Josie Cooperstone of the Amaretto team calling it “a trying time for all of the breedable community.” But no one is backing down.

For Ozimal's statement, Click Here. For Amaretto's position, Click Here.

Sources: Dwell on It, New World Notes,
Pictures from ozimals.com and SL Marketplace

Bixyl Shuftan

Sources:

Amaretto Horses

Grey Lupindo goes "horsing around" as she looks into the Amaretto horses, the latest breedable pet in Second Life. Like the earlier bunnies, they have to be fed and cared for. But unlike their smaller counterparts, these can be ridden around.

Read the story in Extra.