Cyber retailers sue Second Life member for counterfeiting, infringement

Linden Lab has recently updated the Terms of Service for Second Life giving users an out-of-court settlement option if they have some issues with the virtual world or the way the company handles operation. But the thing is, this option only covers cases involving Linden and users, and not users-to-users issues.

Now, six Internet retailers have recently grouped together in the real-world to sue their Second Life adversary for counterfeiting and selling versions of their products. The accused is 36-year old Flushing, New York, resident Thomas Simon and is known in the MMORPG as Rase Kenzo.

The retailers who filed the case are the following: Second Life sex store Strokerz Toyz operator Kevin Alderman, Shannon Grei who sells clothing and “skins” for Second Life characters, Linda Baca of Indiana, Teasa Copprue of Michigan, Kasi Lewis of Georgia, and Michael Hester of Virginia.

According to the six retailers, their products were cloned by Simon using a technical glitch in the Second Life system. Their lawyer, Frank Tanney, had this to say, “This is not a joke. This is not a game. This hurts them”. It wasn’t specified, however, how much money the six retailers are asking for damages.

When asked about the case, Thomas Simon said that he didn’t know that someone can be sued over video games. “They can say whatever they want to say. It’s a video game”, he added. Linden Lab, finally, has yet to make an official statement regarding the matter.

Via NY Post

Linden Lab has recently updated the Terms of Service for Second Life giving users an out-of-court settlement option if they have some issues with the virtual world or the way the company handles operation. But the thing is, this option only covers cases involving Linden and users, and not users-to-users issues.

Now, six Internet retailers have recently grouped together in the real-world to sue their Second Life adversary for counterfeiting and selling versions of their products. The accused is 36-year old Flushing, New York, resident Thomas Simon and is known in the MMORPG as Rase Kenzo.

The retailers who filed the case are the following: Second Life sex store Strokerz Toyz operator Kevin Alderman, Shannon Grei who sells clothing and “skins” for Second Life characters, Linda Baca of Indiana, Teasa Copprue of Michigan, Kasi Lewis of Georgia, and Michael Hester of Virginia.

According to the six retailers, their products were cloned by Simon using a technical glitch in the Second Life system. Their lawyer, Frank Tanney, had this to say, “This is not a joke. This is not a game. This hurts them”. It wasn’t specified, however, how much money the six retailers are asking for damages.

When asked about the case, Thomas Simon said that he didn’t know that someone can be sued over video games. “They can say whatever they want to say. It’s a video game”, he added. Linden Lab, finally, has yet to make an official statement regarding the matter.

Via NY Post