The position of the editorial staff of Second Style has not changed since the last time this came up:
The editors of Second Style Magazine do not support or condone the use of any third party software to reuse or modify Second Life content whether for commercial or personal use unless explicit permission to do so from the original creator(s) has been given.
There is a lot of confusion about what the CopyBot is, and what it can and cannot do. The most succinct summary I’ve seen was posted by ChronoCloud Creggan on her blog. CopyBot can:
- copy fully textured objects attached to avatars in proximity
- copy fully textured objects in proximity
It cannot:
- copy any object contents, including scripts, animations, or sounds,
- copy clothing,
- copy shapes,
- copy textures (objects are textured but the CopyBot does not get the original textures)
- be “deleted” from the SL database because it is an external program which logs in to Second Life just like the normal viewer we all use today,
- be permanently coded in such a way to respect SL permissions (such as “no copy” “no transfer”)
Additional details and some countermeasures (like turning off object creation on your land parcel) are also available for you to read if you want more information.
The last 1,000 comments on the Official Second Life blog have spanned the range of emotions and opinions about this technology. But the most interesting thread about CopyBot and how fashion content creators feel about the IP issues it raises can be found on this PXP post. There are two replies to this post that I want to highlight because I think they eloquently summarize both the emotional and business cost that these IP issues are provoking in content creators. Read them and more commentary below the fold.
First, Zoe Llewelyn of Boneflower Design writes:
My issue is the attitude of LL and Phillip Linden concerning such issues…They want to promote and have the image of a business platform, the investors in a business platform, but then they want to act like it’s a toy. You can’t have it both ways. Second Life is not a game, it’s not a toy, it’s not an experiment. It’s a platform for serious world business that people’s very livelihoods depend on for rent, food, medical care. It’s a platform like Windows or Linux that people build buinesses they depend on around because the companies who made those platforms have promised them security, productivity, and support…
THAT is my issue with LL and why my sims are closed down now. This is like the proverbial straw. I am sick of the lame double speak. I am sick of being treated like a game customer, when what I actually am is a serious, real world business investing in your platform…
It’s time for LL to wake up and realize that without investors of business people like me and those [on] this page who have shut down in protest of LL attitude on these issues…LL would have no platform. WE are why SL has been a success. WE have made SL successful because we great businesses that people want to see and use in SL. WE made SL successful DESPITE LL. Time LL learn that, and wake up and change their attitude to that of a serious business instead of a toy-maker.
THAT is why I stand with these other businesses today. Not out of fear of some copybot. Not out of lack of understanding or knowledge of how complex systems work or what can and can’t be done by LL. I stand here with these investors and businesses in a state of anger and fury and betrayal at LL’s attitude towards those of us who invested in them and whom they have ignored for so long.
The issue at hand doesn’t seem to be CopyBot, per se, but rather a wide spread perception among content creators that IP violations aren’t considered to be serious and that Linden Labs frequently turns a blind eye to reported violations.
Philip Linden, for his part, has said over and over that Linden Labs is not in the business of enforcing copyright law. To the extent that is true, Linden Labs should work to find a way to be more visible in its enforcement efforts, especially with IP rights violations. I’ve heard constructive suggestions from some content creators and commentators that content creators will have to band together to help each other file DMCA take down notices correctly and police sales venues. There is already an in world Seller’s Guild — and a blog focused on consumer protection and awareness. Perhaps the time has come for a similar blog and organization but from the point of view of the content creator, rather than the creator’s customer.
The final comment I’d like to highlight from this thread is one by Sue Stonebender, in the wake of multiple sims and stores closing across the grid:
I asked for people to think this decision through in the Sellers Guild yesterday, and I’ll do it here again today. Step back and treat this as the business problem that it is, and ask yourself this question:
- What do I hope to accomplish by closing my store?
- What actions has Linden Lab taken and what strategies are they putting in place to deal with copybot style utilities?
- What will I do when the next copybot type of tool comes along? And it will, many times again…
If you are serious about solving this problem, take it to the forums. Spell out what you need to happen. Offer suggestions and solutions without all the emotional hand-wringing, and make a point of educating yourselves about what this copybot is, and why Linden Lab cannot simply delete it…
The copybot has been around for a year. It is only one of many tools that we will have to come to terms with. So long as information is drawn to the screen, it is also stored in a cache somewhere, whether through a web browser or the SL client, so preventing people from taking our work is a reality we have to come to grips with.
I respect that a handful of people wanted to rally us together to give us strength in numbers. I resent that it has been done in some cases through misinformation and fear tactics. This is bullying, gives us no credibility, and does achieve what most griefers are looking to do in our midst: cause confusion, divide and conquer. You are worried about the collapse of the market and the destabilization of the grid? That’s not going to happen because of the copybot. That’s going to happen because of a mass run to the edge of the cliff throwing ourselves off of it.
And, at the end of it all, these issues still remain open and mostly unresolved. What will happen the next time some kind of IP copying technology comes along? Is it too risky to make content creation your full time job? Is IP theft just another cost of doing business like rent or advertising? Or is there a deeper, emotional connection with the act of creation?
Many content creators who’ve had things stolen using texture interceptors tell me that it makes them feel “sick” and “violated.” That goes beyond stealing some bits and reselling them or giving them away. It makes it all too real, painful and personal to be another cost of making your RL rent by selling pixels to virtual people. It’s the emotional connection to what you’ve labored over that makes it way too difficult to seperate the act of theft itself from the economic consequences of shutting down an entire sim or stores.
My hope is that the vast majority of content developers within Second Life will continue to produce the creative genius that I see almost on a daily basis — overcoming the limitations of the platform whether they’re in the skirt mesh of the avatar, the clunky prim building interface, or that the data streams to and from SL servers are unencrypted. And everyone who wants to see content flourish in Second Life, CopyBot or not, must come together to assist the legitimate original creators of content in protecting their legitimate IP rights.
It made me so happy to read such a balanced, rational and ultimately hopeful commentary on the whole mess. Thank you for putting so much thought…and heart…into it.
When you say that CopyBot can’t copy clothing, I believe you’re mistaken. While I don’t think it actually copies that piece of clothing, it does copy the texture and apply it to the avatar acting as a bot. And it does copy shapes. It essentially creates a perfect mirror of your avatar — it even animates the same way you are.
Quoth Dolus:
One layer comprising the fully baked look of the avatar being copied, yes, but that doesn’t last upon transfer.
Only temporarily. The shape isn’t retained by the bot, and can’t be saved. Given that you can’t really do anything while logged in with the copybot software, shapes are safe.
celeb, you rock, always balanced, informative, and thanks for this post.
*claps*
xoxo,
caLLie
Excellent article.
Having thought long and hard about it, I have decided not to close any of my shops- even to prove a point.
When I first decided to go fulltime in SL, I wieghed the risks of programs like this (and there will always be something like this out there) and decided the risk was worth it- and that whatever came along, I would do my best to stay my course.
That said, I have all the respect in the world for the protesters. Do what you feel you need to do to make your voice heard. That this tool was developed with LL’s tacit blessing without first giving the community at least SOME safeguards was, at best, irresponsible. I could apply much less kind descriptions.
The unveiling of programs like these always cause an uncomfortable crisis of values, you covered that well Celebrity.
The only other thing I can think to say on this is to everyone out there creating and in fear for the safety of those creations: people can copy, yes, but only you own the mold. The thing they cannot do is create something new. That’s small comfort, but it’s the thought that has kept me going through a LOT of crises similar to this one.
It’s wonderful to see so much of the design community banding together, and that is to be commended. Best of luck in the effort, and I sincerely hope that the action sends LL a crystal clear message.
It is encouraging to read anything about this that is so informing and thoughtful. It hasn’t been copybot that has made me afriad to log in recently (though i think it’s truly terrible) it is the incredible amount of panic and obvious propoganda spreading throughout the grid.
Whether you closed up shop in protest of the LL policy or chose to stay open and state your concerns in other ways, I really appreciate everyone who has managed to keep a level head.
Good editorial Celeb. I Hope more people will read this.
finally a balanced intelligent peice. why cant i find this on the SL blog?
i agree. closing the stores only was to send a msg to LL, but it didnt work. they only care about the economy and they say the economy wasnt affected, but they will take the pains to show it to us the numbers!
now i understand the tech aspects.. i understand the hands off approach.. the same vibe you mention from LL i also got from a business (unnamed) i was working with this week.. all customer service went out the window and that really distressed me.
so if there was no effect on the economy, and likely no big threat to stealing the object and scripts with these limitations, the biggest impact it had was emotional, and that cannot be graphed out. So you have more avies deleted during this week, or maybe you lose about 10 dollars and that makes you very angry.. or people stop creating stuff..or our way of living changes such that there is more distrust and more banlines.. all that is very harmful to our society, and people need to discuss those things. Also the lindens need to at least point us relatively new people to the suggested security items. the lindens know how the script is disabled even temporarily or how to deal.. but they wont say in their blogs, its the residents in the discussion groups who are trying to help. its hard to find these info sources and more rumors go around, misinformation.. and then im left with feeling helpless, a prisoner in my home with banlines up and security cameras everywhere, IMing !quit to every decent newbie trying to play the game.