UPDATE: Electric Sheep lays off 22
The Electric Sheep Company, one of the premier consulting and development firms within Second Life, has laid off 22 people, equal to about one third of its total staff.
AOL leaves Second Life
America Online said on Tuesday it is shuttering its AOL Pointe island in Second Life to focus on virtual worlds that use AIM instant-messaging software for communication between avatars.
High risks, high rewards in virtual finance
Virtual banks offer interest rates that would stagger a real-world investor, but very little is certain in the risky world of Second Life finance.
Settlement reached in Kenzo copyright case
Thomas Simon (Second Life: Rase Kenzo) has reached a settlement with the six Second Life content creators suing him for copyright violation.
Eros asks for default judgment after Leatherwood misses deadline
Robert Leatherwood, the 19-year-old Texan accused of being Second Life avatar Volkov Catteneo, has ignored a court deadline naming him as the principal defendant in the first Second Life copyright lawsuit, a lawyer for the plaintiff said on Thursday.
Merchants decry Second Life copyright chaos
As Second Life grows larger and the base of entrepreneurs who center their real-world income on dealing in virtual goods expands, copyright infringement and trademark protection has emerged as one of the most pressing problems affecting in-world businesses. But the laws and procedures for Second Life-based businesses to follow if their products are copied remains unclear.
Eros lawyers ID ‘John Doe’ avatar; Youth denies he’s Catteneo
After almost four months of searching, lawyers have identified Robert Leatherwood, 19, of North Richland Hills, Tx., as Second Life avatar “Volkov Catteneo.” Leatherwood has denied he’s the real-life person behind the Catteneo avatar.
Residents threaten lawsuit to force landbot ban
Jeanie Shields’ parcel was acquired by a landbot, a controversial automated computer program that scours Second Life’s database of estate listings, looking for land below market value. Her pleas for assistance to Linden Lab having gone unanswered, Shields has teamed up with lawyer Marc Bragg (Second Life: Marc Woebegone) and is threatening legal action against Linden Lab in an attempt to shut down the landbots.
Modest rebound in user hours, premium accounts
Second Life users spent more hours online in September than in the previous month, reversing a decline in August’s usage, according to statistics released by Linden Lab on Monday.
Omnicom buys stake in Millions of Us
Virtual world development firm Millions of Us said on Thursday it has sold a undisclosed stake to a unit of Omnicom Group, the world’s biggest advertising services company.
European residents angry, but not leaving, over VAT
European users of Second Life bombarded Linden Lab executive Robin Harper on Tuesday with angry questions about the company’s plan to charge Value Added Tax (VAT), but many said they plan to continue on despite higher costs.
UPDATE - Linden raises possibility of virtual arbitrations in new ToS
Linden Lab changed Second Life’s Terms of Service on Tuesday, allowing residents to settle minor disputes with the company via binding arbitration by a variety of means, including legal proceedings inside Second Life itself.
Linden plans resident-to-resident land auctions
Linden Lab plans to use its new land auction software, currently under development, to allow real estate auctions between residents
UPDATE - Anshe Chung gets new venture funding
Anshe Chung Studios, the virtual world development and real estate company with major holdings in Second Life, has received a new round of venture capital financing from New York-based Gladwyne Partners.
Rival grids threaten Linden’s monopoly on SL technology
As Linden Lab prepares to take the Second Life server code open source, the company is finding its timeline challenged by an open source community that doesn’t want to wait.
Net tightens around ‘John Doe’ avatar
A judge in U.S. District Court in Tampa approved a subpoena of two Internet service providers, forcing them to disclose real-life information about a Second Life avatar who is being sued for copyright infringement.
Premium accounts decline in July
The number of premium accounts in Second Life declined in July for the first time on record, according to statistics released by Linden Lab yesterday.
Exclusive: Philip Rosedale interview from SLCC
Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale sat down for an exclusive interview at the Second Life Community Convention on Saturday to talk about Linden’s business model, its relationship with its customers, and whether the company will have to chase the lowest common denominator in adhering to real world laws.
Rosedale opens SLCC with apology for bugs
Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale kicked off the Second Life Community Convention with an apology for recent service outages on the grid, calling Second Life’s spate of service outages “not acceptable.”
Unable to pay depositors, Ginko ceases banking operations
Ginko Financial ceased banking operations on Wednesday evening after a week of financial turmoil depleted the controversial firm’s reserves and spurred a rush of depositors trying to withdraw their money.
