Exhibit A: First Life!
Exhibit B: Linden Legal Responds!
We do not believe that reasonable people would argue as to whether the website located at http://www.getafirstlife.com/ constitutes parody – it clearly is. Linden Lab is well known among its customers and in the general business community as a company with enlightened and well-informed views regarding intellectual property rights, including the fair use doctrine, open source licensing, and other principles that support creativity and self-expression. We know parody when we see it.
Moreover, Linden Lab objects to any implication that it would employ lawyers incapable of distinguishing such obvious parody. Indeed, any competent attorney is well aware that the outcome of sending a cease-and-desist letter regarding a parody is only to draw more attention to such parody, and to invite public scorn and ridicule of the humor-impaired legal counsel. Linden Lab is well-known for having strict hiring standards, including a requirement for having a sense of humor, from which our lawyers receive no exception.
In conclusion, your invitation to submit a cease-and-desist letter is hereby rejected.
They go on to explicitly license the author of getafirstlife.com to use parodies of SL logos for merchandising purposes.
Well done, everyone involved.
#1 by Amber on January 23rd, 2007
And of course their first order of business was to claim 6.5 billion “residents.” Uh-huh. Look out WoW. pffff.
(Also, everyone knows that First Life is populated mostly by gamblers and prostitutes.)
#2 by Neep on January 23rd, 2007
Yea, as soon as you pop into the world. BAM genitalia…
Perverts.
#3 by Soulflame on January 23rd, 2007
I wondered why I woke up this morning with a box on my head.
#4 by TPRJones on January 23rd, 2007
The real problem with First Life is you can’t easily tell the furries from everyone else on first glance. At least online they have the decency to look freaky as a warning sign.
#5 by kwip on January 23rd, 2007
That’s true. Better nuke ‘em from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
#6 by Trademark. on January 23rd, 2007
Linden needs to actively police the use of their mark if they want to preserve protection. Granting a license like this is very smart from a TM perspective (it resolves the TM question left unanswered by a copyright parody defense–sure parody is a defense to a claim of copyright infringement if valid, but is it a defense to a TM suit? It should be, but if the defense is never alleged because the holder of the mark didn’t police use of the mark, does that mean the parody user is entitled to a use that extends beyond parody? Yeah, there’s a problem there, all right.).
#7 by Scott on January 23rd, 2007
Plan B: since Linden has declined to send First Life a cease-and-desist letter, they should request Linden Legal send them a parody of a cease-and-desist letter. (To non- lawyers, the parody will of course be indistinguishable from a real cease-and-desist letter.)
#8 by J. on January 24th, 2007
I told you it was over when they refused to respond to the Marketplace guys.
It’s REALLY over now. All downhill from here.
#9 by MrOrange on January 24th, 2007
Well, my daddy used to say ” When your on fire,everyones gonna come watch ya burn”
bad press ,good press..its still press. The more stink that is spread around the more subscriptions. Just watch.