The Secret

Have you ever had the experience of logging in to Second Life to find your favorite item replaced by a prim called IPReplacement?  We have, because we made the mistake of buying mesh from someone who was selling it illegally, and got a DMCA filed on them. This blog will explain why it happened, who is promoting it, and what you can do avoid it.

Recently, a particularly interesting link was posted in this 47 page SL Universe thread about ripped mesh, which makes it crystal clear that some of the most-blogged "creators" are actually thieves who make nothing themselves but just make money off other people's work -- and sell it to unsuspecting customers who lose out in the end. 

This is what the link shows: someone went through the store We’re Closed’s listings and posted pictures of their products, alongside pictures of the original 3d models sold on various 3D model websites, by various 3D artists — on Pinterest. You can see the page here – it is appropriately enough called Interesting Things.

Chair Sold By We're Closed

Exact same chair, resale prohibited

Predictably, after the link to the Pinterest page was posted, those products disappeared from the marketplace but not the inworld store. But many others are left. This is what the Pinterest author says:

Since we’re closed has no shame and only removes items as they are outed, the rest of their items have been reported directly to the original creators to deal with as they see fit. 

Since then, content from other stores has appeared on the Pinterest page  – Le Bistro, for example, who was ejected from the Food Fair for having stolen content, yet does not remove the content from their store.   Look’s didn’t even bother to make his own product pictures.  

Mesh sold by Le Bistro

Exact same mesh, resale prohibited

But that’s not all — as soon as the Pinterest page attracted attention, a lot of other stores took down a lot of content from their marketplace and inworld stores. The Pinterest author says:

Sadly there are many more prominent ‘creators’ who are ‘borrowing’ 3d content, in full, and in parts. You know who you are, some have already cleaned house the past few weeks, others are encouraged to do so in the next few weeks. I will be back.

Unlike when content is stolen from other SL creators, when a DMCA from outside SL is filed, LL deletes the stolen content from the inventories (and land) of those who bought it. So not only do the thieves have an unfair advantage over legitimate creators, but the are ripping off their customers as fast as they can get things uploaded.  

The examples shown in the SL Universe thread are the tip of the iceberg. Second Life is being flooded with ripped content. Legitimate creators, who painstakingly make their own content, are at a severe competitive disadvantage. The thieves can upload dozens of stolen items in the time it takes a real creator to make one. Since everyone can upload the same stolen models, the future of SL may be all about the same User Uploaded Content being seen everywhere, sold by different thieves, and the extinguishing of original content except by those who can afford to create as a hobby. 

The SL Universe thread is the only place we know where anyone shows any interest in the problem. We see stolen merchandise artfully and enthusiastically blogged, but who is blogging about the steady and growing erosion of User Generated Content?  Who is calling the thieves out, as they deserve to be?  Not bloggers -- they are still blogging We're Closed content!

In upcoming posts:  How to protect yourself from buying stolen merchandise by knowing the signs that a seller is not a creator, and how it is that often it is the thieves whose stores get promoted by bloggers.

The more eyes on the problem, the better. If you come across evidence of stolen models, send it to us at SecretsOfSecondLife@gmail.com. 

So why is the problem different/worse than before mesh?

In the past, thieves could use illegal viewers to take copies of prims and sculpts in Second Life and resell them. But outside of SL, these things did not exist.

For mesh, however, there are countless sites selling professionally made 3D models for use in games, movies, architectural scenes, advertising, etc.  Many of these sites are hosting stolen models they illegally allow to be downloaded.

So some "creators" in Second Life, instead of going to the trouble of making their own mesh, simply fill their shopping baskets up with ready-made professional quality models they either bought or found for free. But free does not mean "free to resell".  Although in SL we have full perm creators who sell to others with the understanding that the buyers will make something of the models and resell them, this is NOT the case with models on sites external sites -- they are not selling "templates" for resell, as many in SL do. A few model licenses do allow for reselling, but these are very few. These models are to be used in games, for example, but not to be resold individually as they are in Second Life.

Turbosquid, one of the best known 3D model sites, specifically mentions Second Life:

I want to buy a product from TurboSquid and use it in a virtual world community, like Second Life. Is that allowed?TurboSquid 3D models, conversions, and any altered or unaltered part of a TurboSquid 3D model, may NOT be imported, uploaded, reproduced, made available, transmitted, distributed, or sublicensed in Second Life or other virtual world communities. We prohibit any inclusion of TurboSquid material in any software that imports open 3D file formats (e.g., Second Life, 3D modeling software, etc.), and while we respect the Second Life and similar communities, our artist community does not believe the IP protections for their work are sufficient for these uses.

Some thieves think they are safe because they modify the illegally downloaded models, or create something from parts from different models.  But Turbosquid makes it clear that not only is this illegal, but even using a model as a "template" is:

 If I buy a model to use as a template (a reference to guide the placement of my polygons and curves) for another model I am going to build from scratch, how can I use the new model? Can I sell the new model I make on TurboSquid?Using models purchased or downloaded from TurboSquid as templates is very common. You are welcome to do this and can use the new model that you made or derived from a model on TurboSquid in any way that you would use a purchased model. You will not, however, be able to resell the new model. By using the first model as a template for the creation of a new model, the new model automatically is a derivative of the purchased model. Derivatives of models may not be sold on TurboSquid or used in any manner inconsistent with the TurboSquid End User License Agreement.

The more eyes on the problem, the better. If you come across evidence of stolen models, send it to us at SecretsOfSecondLife@gmail.com.