Net tightens around ‘John Doe’ avatar
By Eric Reuters
SECOND LIFE, Sept. 6 (Reuters) - A judge in U.S. District Court in Tampa approved a subpoena of two Internet service providers on Wednesday, requiring them to disclose real-life information about a Second Life avatar who is being sued for copyright infringement.
The case, Eros LLC vs John Doe, pits Eros chief Kevin Alderman, known in Second Life as Stroker Serpentine, against an anonymous Second Life user known only by his avatar name, Volkov Catteneo. Alderman has accused Catteneo of selling illicit copies of Eros’ SexGen bed, the flagship product in Alderman’s adult-goods empire.
Yesterday’s subpoenas went out to two Internet service providers, AT&T and Charter Communications.
Alderman has already sent subpoenas to Linden Lab and Internet payment company PayPal, both of which complied with Alderman’s requests for information.
Frank Taney, lawyer for Alderman, said he received Internet Protocol addresses from his previous subpoenas and now has good leads on what state Catteneo lives in. “We’re getting information associated with the account holders of those IP addresses,” Taney said.
Catteneo has remained defiant in the face of litigation, saying he provided Linden Lab with false information about his real-life identity, and predicting Alderman’s attempt to uncover his real-world identity would be unsuccessful.
Catteneo, who claimed to be 19 years old in a Second Life interview with Reuters, said his IP address is linked to an account shared by his family. The avatar has not yet told his parents about the subpoenas in motion since July, nor has he sought legal counsel.
“My family knows nothing of this, and I plan on keeping it that way,” Catteneo said.
Taney acknowledged the possibility that the account holder of the IP address may not be the ultimate target of his client’s lawsuit, but said it would be “irresponsible” to speculate on what might come out of the current round of subpoenas. “We want to find the person who is logging in as Volkov Catteneo,” he said.
Copies of the subpoenas are available here. Eros has also made available its motion for subpoena and two supporting documentation exhibits (1, 2).
