Virtual Worlds Forum

The high-profile lawsuit involving cloned Second Life adult items has ended in a damp squib rather than a bang (no pun intended), after defendant Robert Leatherwood failed to respond to Florida firm Eros' copyright and trademark infringement complaint. As a result, Eros has been awarded default judgement in the case, allowing it to seek damages and legal fees. Leatherwood was accused of copying Eros' adult animation products to sell them himself - much media coverage has said 'sex toys', but I'm assuming it includes other forms of Second Life content too. Originally the lawsuit was filed against 'John Doe', with Eros then using subpoenas to Linden Lab, PayPal, AT&T and Charter Communications to link Leatherwood to the SL avatar Volkov Catteneo. Although Leatherwood disputed that, he was clearly unwilling or unable to make his case in court. It's good news for Eros, but many in the virtual worlds industry were keen to see how the legal arguments would play out, and what precedents would be set in any ruling - something that'll have to wait for another trademark infringement case in the future now. (via Virtually Blind)