Nintendo Sues Palword's Owner Pocketpair, Claiming Game Violates Patent Rights

 

Some of you may have heard about the game "Palworld." Palworld has some survival game elements, such as base-building and weaponmaking. But you also go out and tame critters, and have them combat player-owned critters. That you can arm the creatures has gotten the game the nickname "Pokemon with guns." The game was an overnight success, and brought the small indie company millions. But Nintendo wasn't very happy, and recently announced it was filing a lawsuit, saying the game violated a number of patents. 

Read more in Other Grids, MMOs, and Games. 

Sansar's Owner, Wookey, In Lawsuit By Former CEO

 

Lately, things haven't been looking very good for Sansar. The "next generation virtual world" created by Linden Lab and going online in 2017, had struggled to find an audience and in 2020 the Lab would sell it to Wookey Technologies. In recent weeks, the place has been described as "on life support" with the workers furloughed and it's Umbra license expired. Then on Dec 22, it was knocked offline for a day. The cause of that has yet to be determined.

As it turns out, this isn't the only problem going on with Wookey. It seems they're in a legal dispute with a former CEO of theirs, John Fried. The "Wrongful Discharge" suit started in April 2020, not long after Wookey bought Sansar. He is demanding one million dollars. As of November, it was headed to a jury trial set for June 27, 2022.

Inara Pey states that the company has a net worth of about 3.78 million, "a judgement made in favour of Mr. Fried, it could put a significant dent in the company’s finances." Needless to say, the future of Sansar is looking more troubled.

Source: Modem World, Superior Court of California

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Apple Says No To IOS SL Mobile Client

 

As you may know, Linden Lab has been working on a Second Life app for mobile devices. Last month, it looked like one would be soon be available in beta. But it appears the wait will be a little longer. In the Web User Group meeting held on Wednesday October 7, it was revealed that a beta version of the IOS (iPhone Operating System) version of the SL mobile app had been submitted to Apple to appear in it's app store, and was rejected. The reasons for the rejection were not revealed, only that the Lab is working to correct the issues.

For now, the IOS app remains in closed alpha. The Android version is described as behind the IOS in development.

Unrelated to Second Life but of note to gamers,  Apple has been at odds with Epic, the company behind the popular Fortnite game, over what both sides claim is unreasonable behavior. Apple took Fortnite off it's app store over what it called violations of the agreement between them and Epic. A week ago on October 9, a judge ruled that Apple didn't have to put the game back.

Sources: Daniel Voyager, Modem World, CNN, Forbes

Bixyl Shuftan

Genus Project Wins DMCA Suit, Reopens Today

Things haven't been the best for the Genus Project store this year. Twice this year, someone hit them with DMCA takedown notices, the second just hours after the store reopened. Finally, after two months, the case has been resolved and the store is set to reopen today. So how was the suit pulled off and why did it take time to resolve? The owner of Genus would explain.

Read more in Extra.

Second Life Store Hit With Two DMCA Shutdowns, Second Hours After Reopening

While the Second Life Birthday and the buyout of Linden Lab have been in the headlines, there have been other news stories that might have gotten more attention otherwise. Among the companies making use of Bento mesh is Genus, which has gotten attention for it's Bento heads. But a few months ago, they were hit with a DMCA takedown order, which shut them down for a while. Earlier this month, they reopened, only to be hit with a second takedown order in just a few hours.

Read the story in Extra.

News And Commentary: Patent Troll Sues Linden Labs

By Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich)

News broke recently over on yahoo!finance that a known patent troll, Worlds Incorporated, has filed a patent dispute lawsuit with Linden Labs for their extremely broad patent on a “System and Method for Enabling Users to Interact in a Virtual Space.”

In fact they have used this same patent to files a suit against Blizzard all the way back in 2012. In 2013, they were counter sued by Activision when they went after them.

So what is a patent troll you might ask? Patent trolls are often not companies that offer their own services or goods. They are more of a “patent holding company” and they often collect and sit on patents just so they can go after legitimate companies in the future in the hopes of either settling with them or collecting royalty fees for the use of their intentionally broad patents.

In this case, Worlds Inc. maintains a very basic 3D chat client which you can read about here (but be warned this article is very NSFW and that’s not the avatar’s tail). It’s obvious that this service isn’t even looked after. What these patent trolls will do is gather the patent and release a barebones “service” or “product” so that they can prove later on in court that they have been sourcing this “product” or “service.” They are essentially opportunistic vultures who see an opportunity, wait for their prey to get fat (successful), and then strike when the time is right.

This is nothing new and happens all the time in the technology industry. Since it’s so common, the companies that these patent trolls go after tend to pay for good lawyers who take care of these things. Let’s hope that Linden Labs is able to do the same. It’s just a shame that it’s such a drain on resources for these companies.

Cyfir

Image Source: Engadget. 

Editor's Note: According to an article by Engadget, they sued NCSoft and had gone after Linden Lab in the past as well.

It seems among the things that the money coming from Linden Lab's price and fee hikes will be going to is paying lawyers to defend them against patent trolls.

Linden Lab Under Lawsuit, Accused of Firing Woman For Raising Security Concerns

As Second Life residents get ready for the Tilia service as part of their online experience starting today, there's an unwelcome development for Linden Lab that's likely to raise concerns by some residents on how safe their data will be. Kavaya Pearlman, a former employee of Linden Lab whom worked on cybersecurity, announced yesterday over Twitter she was filing suit against Linden Lab.

The reason for the lawsuit, Pearlman stated, was retaliation for her "multiple concerns of potential violations (of) cybersecurity laws" during her time of employment. It was also alleged in her Twitter post that the Lab's treatment of her was due to her being "a minority, a woman, a Muslim woman and an immigrant in times where people that do not look like her are being told to 'go back to their country'.” She insisted that during her time of employment, neither Second Life of Sansar suffered any data breaches.

Pearlman's accusations that she was fired in part for her being female and an ethnic and religious minority go against the inclusive image Linden Lab has made for itself over time. In 2017, the Lab made a statement against an executive order by President Trump imposing restrictions on immigration from several countries that critics called a "Muslim ban." In it's newest tweet on it's Twitter page, the Lab stated, "We're proud to join HRC (Human Rights Campaign) and 200 major corporations to send a message that everyone deserves to be protected from discrimination."

Of Tilia, Linden Lab has insisted the service was created "With security and privacy as it's primary considerations."

Hat tip: New World Notes, Modem World

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: "Mac on Trial"

(Click here if the video does not play)

From "TheOtherSideBand InSecondLife in April 20, a video about the justice system in the Tombstone roleplay community, "The arrest and trial of Mac McLeary."

Leading Youtube to Music File Conversion Website Shut Down By Music Industry

In a development that's clearly of interest to music lovers, youtube-mp3.org, once the top website for converting Youtube videos into MP3 files, was shut down earlier this month following an out of court settlement between the site's owner and the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA. The website www.youtube-mp3.org had been one of the most visited websites on the Internet according to an article in Torrent Freak magazine. But checking the location only shows a dead link, the site having been taken down.

About a year ago, Philip Matesanz of Germany and PMD Technologies UG, the owners of the website had been sued by a number of record companies, charging that the "Defendants are depriving Plaintiffs and their recording artists of the fruits of their labor," while raking in money from advertising. In the agreement between Matesanz and the companies, the domain had been handed over to RIAA and it's owner making a payment of an undisclosed cash settlement,  the recording labels agreed to halt further prosecution, and the defendant accepts the blame of the charges against him.

While this is the end of www.youtube-mp3.org, these music companies feel the problem of "stream ripping" shouldn't have gotten so far to begin with, complaining that Youtube needs to take more responsibility in trying to stop them.  As it turns out, Youtube did threaten legal action against the website, as well as the video downloader TubeNinja.

For those whom had been depending on youtube-mp3.org for their music, such as possibly some Second Life DJs, they will now have to find another way to get new music.

Sources: The Next Web, Torrent Freak

Bixyl Shuftan

News and Commentary: Linden Lab Among Tech Companies Filing Brief Against Trump's Executive Order On Skilled Worker Visas

By Bixyl Shuftan

In early February, Linden Lab issued a statement concerning President Trump's executive order at the time concerning several Middle Eastern countries. Branded a "Muslim Ban," eventually a judge blocked part of the order and eventually Trump dropped in in favor of a slightly different executive order later on. Recently the White House has found a new target: the H-1B visa program that allows skilled foreign workers to come to America. Linden Lab was among over 150 tech companies to sign a brief sent to the US District Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, calling for the executive order to be blocked.

Congress in 1965 prohibited discrimination in immigration decisions on the basis of national origin precisely so that the Nation could not shut its doors to immigrants based on where they come from — but the Order does just that. Moreover, the President’s authority under the immigration laws must be exercised reasonably, and is limited by the detailed standards enacted by Congress to address a variety of issues, including preventing entry of terrorists into our country. The Order overrides those standards without sufficient justification. Finally, the President lacks authority to impose sweeping, long-term changes on the entire system governing eligibility for entry into the United States by immigrants and non-immigrants; such changes require notice-and-comment procedures conducted by one or all of the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security.

The brief would also refer to calls on restrictions on immigration in the past, such as a quote by Woodrow Wilson whom criticized immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe saying the people had "neither skill nor energy nor any initiative of quick intelligence." And on laws based to restrict it which were mainly based on prejudice on these people in addition to Asians, Jews, and other groups, such as the Immigration Acts of 1917 and 1924. It branded Trump's new executive order as an abandonment of "the principles that have undergirded U.S. immigration policy for more than half a century," "unlawful," and "substantively unreasonable."

Although some such as Hamlet Au call the order part of the "Muslim ban," the country that benefits most from the program is India, which has a mainly Hindu population. Plus the H-1B visa program has been criticized for quite some time on the grounds of allowing companies to allow businesses to lay off native-born workers in favor of cheaper foreign workers. The most notable recent example of this was when Disney told 250 of it's workers they would soon be laid off and their last assignment would be to train their replacements.

Linden Lab's stake in the H-1B visa program is obvious, being able to attract foreign talent to work with them in the United States. But considering how Islam is so often linked to terrorism, such as the attacks France has suffered in the past few years, and an attack in Fresno California by a convert, those against Trump's executive order may want to pursue a different strategy in persuasion than link it to his effort to limit immigration from certain countries in the Middle East.


Sources: Yahoo News, New York Times, New World Notes, Business Insider, Redcode   

Bixyl Shuftan

Man Pleads Guilty to Second Life Land Fraud in Real Life Court

While the goings-on in virtual worlds are beyond the understanding of many in real life, the court system found a scam involving thousands of dollars done online clear enough to bring to real life court. In this case, a man plead guilty to swindling a woman in a Second Life real estate deal.

In April 2015, Joshua Bills was arrested and charged with fraud. The crime: a virtual real estate scam, "In the complaint, it stated that a loan agreement was made with Bills for $53,500 for the purposes of expanding his online real estate company. Bills was to use the money to purchase land that he would manage through his company, within the game Second Life, in exchange for a promissory note that would pay $10,000 for the investment within 24 months."

The woman whom was targeted had been renting a home in Second Life from Bills. Then, "He suggested she invest with him to buy more land within the game so he could manage it and make both of them money." But instead of investing the money as promised, the majority of it went to his E-Trade investment account.

Indiana Securities Commissioner Alex Glass commented in a statement, "This was certainly a unique case in that it dealt with online, virtual real estate. However, upon examination of the facts, this case is very similar to a conventional real estate investment scheme. Con artists are always finding new and unique ways to scam trusting individuals out of their hard earned money."

Bills plead guilty in Marion County Indiana court. He was sentenced in late July to three years probation, and ordered to repay the woman he defrauded in full.

Hamlet Au of New World Notes, which also wrote about the case, commented, "this conviction helps establish a legal precedent for future prosecution of other virtual scams."

Sources: Business Weekly, ind.gov 

Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release from Skill Games Maker PI Games Concerning Probable Court Action

Since the decision by PI Games to halt support of it's games starting on September 1st due to Linden Lab's new terms, there's been further developments, as is shown by this group announcement/press release.

*  *  *  *  *

As many have asked, yes it is probable that PI Games will be forced to defend itself versus a group of operators in Second Life, this will be public record when and if it happens.

PI Games acted in reliance upon Linden Lab's policy that for a game to be permissible under the Skill Games policy 1) a Creator had to apply for a game and have it approved on the Creator list - since as the Creator Foxyfurman Kumaki had not applied for a license for these solo games made by Foxyfurman Kumaki, the game(s) cannot be approved, and therefore the games are automatically non-compliant; and 2) the Skill Gaming policy correctly required that games must be skill based and not have a material element of chance which is exactly why a year ago PI Games began revamping his games to a player versus player tournament format. 

Of course, if this goes to court, we are confident in proving that house banked, also known as solo, games are illegal gambling, and, therefore, there can be no basis of recovery - not to mention the other wrinkle in that this lawsuit would be filed in California which has specific regulations and requirements for a skill based game to be legal - none of which these solo games meet; however, we prefer not to go to court.

We have requested the following clarifications of  Linden Lab's TOS and policies:  1) Are games for which the Creator has not applied for a license allowed to be continued to operate in violation of the Skill Gaming Policy? 2) Is illegal per se gambling through house banked games, i.e. solo games where the owner/operator participates in adjusting/receiving the payout, authorized by Linden Lab?

We will keep this group updated on clarifications that Linden Lab makes to us.

We have discontinued our efforts to make updates for PI Games until a time where Linden Lab clarifies it's position on Federal and State laws.

PI Team

The Hanging Trial

Among the roleplays in Second Life is the Wild West roleplay known as Tombstone. The place has seen a number of shootings, and now one of the players in the sim, is expected after to depart. Gemma Cleanslate looks at how the trial progressed, and the results.

Read about the trial in People.

Net Neutrality Under Threat: Court Ruling Opens Possibility of Paying More or Slower Internet

By Bixyl Shuftan

For years, the prinicple of "Net Neutrality," that Internet Service Providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet equaly has governed how people go about online. People can download all information at an equal rate of speed instead of being offered different tiers of speed for different fees. But recently, there was a court decision that means trouble for supporters of this policy.

In 2010, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enacted a set of rules based on the Net Neutrality idea. But on Tuesday January 14, a US Federal appeals court ruled that the FCC had no legal authority to enforce them (link). The court stated while the government can oversee crucial services like telephones and electric power, the Internet isn't a crucial service. The FCC is expected to appeal the ruling.

The ruling opens the way for Internet Service providers to start charging customers more of they want to continue to download and surf at the speed they've been using. For those who don't pay more, the company could slow down their service. Consumers could also pay more as media sites like Netflix are charged more for using lots of bandwith, and they react by passing their costs down to their customers. Gamers could find themselves tacked with a "bandwith charge."

So why not switch to an Internet Service provider that isn't charging more? For many consumers in the US, that isn't an option. Unlike say Britian where people have a choice between a dozen or so Internet service providers, many places in the United States operate under a monopoly by a single ISP.

Financial talk show host Clark Howard compared the situation to the toll roads in early 19th Century America. People complained loudly over the fees charged, and eventually the tolls were lifted. He felt it would be much the same if Internet fees were to go up as a result of the ruling. Chatting with Valkyre McGill in Second Life, whom in the past wrote for Acceler8or magazine, felt any "nickel and diming to death" from excessive charges by Internet Service Providers would be met with new encryption, and other technologies that would allow users to get around "the current centralized web model" and make the ISPs less relevant than they used to be.

Sources: CNN, CNN Money, BBC, Clark Howard, Forbes,  Acceler8tor,

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

Another from a RFL "Jail and Bail."

By Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at a RFL "Jail and Bail."

By Bixyl Shuftan

In Real Life News: Internet Activist Aaron Swartz Dies

By Bixyl Shuftan

In recent days, two men have made news about what they did on the Internet. One was a football player whom was apparently duped into falling for a made-up girl. The other was Aaron Swartz, programmer and Internet activist.

Swartz is described as having been "immersed" in computers and the Internet from a very young age, programing, and later founding the software company Infogami, which later merged with the social website Reddit. CNN described him as helping to develop RSS coding "which allows websites to send updates to subscribers." "Swartz made some of today's more expansive Internet possible."

But Swartz was better known for contributing and helping to shape the philosophy and culture of the Internet, that information should be free and easily available, "He was a technologist who was committed to open access to information, and committed to bringing about the changes he believed in." At his own expense, he downloaded and made available to the public a fifth of the US Federal court PACER database. Then he founded "Demand Progress," an Internet activist organization. He also helped in the fights against the Internet censorship bills SOPA and PIPA.

Unfortunetly, he was in trouble at this time. Federal prosecutors accused him of using an MIT computer to download over 4 million articles from a library of academic journals. The university refused to press charges, and "urged" the government to let him go. Instead, Swartz was accused of wire fraud, computer fraud, hacking, and other charged that could have resulted in a prison sentence of 35 years. He was indicted in July 2011. With depression possibly a factor, Swartz hanged himself on January 11th. Both family and fellow Internet activists were quick to blame the Federal prosecutors who had went after him, who continue to defend their actions.

Aaron Swartz was 26.

*Update* CNN reports that the "Anonymous" hacker group has threatened the US Department of Justice, saying they may release sensitive files, expressing anger over Swartz's death.

Sources: CNN, Huffington, CBS

Bixyl Shuftan

Zynga and "The Sims Social"

Most Second Life residents are probably familiar with Zynga, the company known for it's games on Facebook, such as "Farmville." Recently they made the news, but not in a good way. CNN stated that Electronic Arts, the company behind "The Sims," filed a lawsuit against them for making their new game, "The Ville," too much like "The Sims Online," the adaptation of their famous game to Facebook. Grease Coakes took a look at the two games to see for himself.

Read Grease's story in Extra.

Dutch Supreme Court Rules Runescape Virtual Theft a Real-Life Crime

On Tuesday Jan 31st, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled over a case in which two boys had beaten up a third and threatening him with a knife forced him to log onto the game and drop his possessions where one of his assailants was waiting to pick them up. Most notable were a knife and amulet. The crime took place in 2007, and a lower court found the defendants guilty in 2009. One of them appealed to the Supreme Court of Holland.

The convicted thief based his appeal on the argument that the stolen goods "were neither tangible nor material and, unlike for example electricity, had no economic value." He also brought up the Runescape terms of service, stating the virtual goods were the property of Jagex, the company behind the game.


You agree that all intellectual property or other rights in any game character, account and items are and will remain our property. Jagex owns all rights in the Jagex Products, and you are only granted permission to use such products, subject to and in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.


The court ruled that the items had value because of the “time and energy” spent in getting them, and at the time of the theft they were the “exclusive dominion” of the victim. Therefore, the taking of these virtual goods was just as against the law as real items.

Tateru Nino thought this ruling was an interesting landmark ruling. Although virtual goods are legal property, in just about every legal jurisdiction they are the property of the “service provider.” This ruling she felt gives the Dutch users themselves property rights to the goods. So at least in Holland she felt, MMOs and virtual worlds didn’t have quite the same power over their users that they used to.

Virtualpolicy.net commented, “This case is significant because it changes the relationship between individuals and service providers in respect of digital objects. That is, Runescape’s contract clearly states that the players of the game do not own the game or any of the digital objects within it, whether they control them or not. This has long been a contentious matter as there is a large trade in the sale of objects between players for hard currency, so called Real Money Trading. This ruling means that there is a degree of control that someone can have over an object which is sufficient for that object to be stolen.”

For now, only Dutch gamers and virtual world residents are affected by this ruling. But there have been similar legal cases in South Korea and Asia in which “judges have displayed a general trend to grant more rights to players than are stated in their contract and to see digital objects as being akin to physical property in certain important respects.” This case could very well influence similar ones that are likely to come up elsewhere in Europe and the Americas.

Currently, Second Life’s Terms of Service allow residents intelectual property rights over their creatied content in the game. But the legal jargon is a bit slippery, Tateru Nino stating Linden Lab says they own “the bits and bytes of electronic data stored on its Servers.”

Sources: MSNBC, Jagex, Dwell on It, Virtualpolicy.net

Bixyl Shuftan

RedZone’s zFire Xue Gets Four Months in Prison

Michael Prime, or zFire Xue as known to the residents of Second Life, the creator and operator of the infamous RedZone, is on his way to a small cell behind bars.

According to Tateru Nino’s blog, zFire plead guilty “for four counts of violating his probation following a prior conviction for fraud,” and “has been remanded to the custody of the US Marshals and is off for four months in prison.“ When he’s released from the penitentiary, the conditions for his parole include not being allowed to work near computers or being allowed to go on auction websites, social network sites such as Facebook, or virtual worlds, at least not without the permission of his probation officer. The section of terms Tateru Nino posted specifically stated accessing Second Life would be a violation of his terms, unless he got permission from the probation officer.


Tateru also noted that a $500 fine that was part of his sentence had been waived due to “financial incapacity.” The investigators couldn’t find the money he made off RedZone. What happened to it is unknown, but this suggests that perhaps the residents of Second Life may hear of him at least one more time in the future.

For now however, he won’t be in a position to bother the Grid for a while.

Tateru provided details of his prior conviction Here. A “Redzone Victim” responding to her blog post pointed out the “United States of America v. Michael Stefan Prime” case Here. The gotvirtual.net forum also has a lengthy thread on ZFire's sentencing.

Sources: “Dwell on it,” “Find a Case”

Bixyl Shuftan