What’s a fashionista to do? You’ve just purchased a fatpack of whatever.. and now it’s been DMCA’d! It’s TAINTED! Or is it? Take the poll below and discuss! š
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I paid for it, I am keeping it
I voted to delete it because I still say it’s the principle of the thing.
In the case of bloggers, you said go ahead and wear it but don’t credit it. Why even wear it? People will most likely be interested in it, and ask you where you got it. If they can’t get the answer from you, they’ll get it elsewhere. You’ve seen the pictures on plurk of “where is this hair/skin/dress/whatever from?” People will find out and shop there. And why would you give business to a ripper? Think about it.
I’d rather proudly wear a legit creator and give them the added exposure/business than wear something from a shady creator. Yes, the sad thing about content theft is that it hits consumers in the wallet. We take a loss and there’s no way to recoup it, but that doesn’t mean we get a pass on wearing (and therefore condoning!) the use of stolen content.
By “DMCA’d” do you mean merely reported/accused of or a successful takedown i.e. no counter DMCA filed/any subsequent legal action? If a DMCA is filed against someone and it is successful, then LL are legally obliged to remove the content from the database (this would effectively mean the content would be deleted from our inventories). If the question is whether I would remove content from my inventory based on an accusation, absolutely not. I would never pressume myself to be judge and jury without the benefit of being even remotely near to having all the facts at hand.
This actually happened to me on a DMCA from PXL Creations. Six months (sorry memory blurry there but a long time) later PXL was exonerated but ended up with returned goods that they no longer could sell (sigh).
The goods did not disappear from my inventory at that time. Perhaps things are different now or perhaps it was an error. Who knows? I stopped wearing the skins when there was a DMCA filed.
Honestly, there are so many “faulty” DMCA allegations these days (something I didn’t know back then) that if I knew the designer and TRUSTED the designer it would make no difference to me. It is way too easy to claim something is stolen and put the goods (now days?) in limbo. A great weapon for designers against designers.
I’m not saying this is always the case, but it certainly has been many times in the past. I am thankful to the designers who were brave enough to take us through the process of what happened (Fresh Baked Goods comes to mind) and let us know what really happens.
It’s not about “paying” for it, as I seldom do that :D. It is about considering someone guilty before it is proved.
Good question Gogo š
I would hold the skin until I heard the results. A lot of emotion tied up on this issue and a lot of grey areas. I would not assume the person was guilty until proven..but I would be causious about buying more and I would not wear it.
In the case of ripped skins, if I see comparison pics and am convinced they’re ripped, I would delete them for the reasons I stated above, and I would not patronize that store in the future.
I am appalled at the DMCA process lately, and the designers filing DMCAs just to knock down the competition. If someone just files the DMCA and I haven’t seen proof but have only heard of the action, I would hold off on wearing the item and buying any further items until I know for sure/see proof/hear the outcome or a combination of those things. I would probably be wary of the designer in the future (which answers your “are they tainted” question) but I’m still not of the “I paid for it so it’s my right to wear it whether or not it’s legit” camp.
I would say it comes down to credibility. Its becoming a Salem Witch Hunt lately with everyone seeing “witches” everywhere and so many DMCA’s have been filed maliciously that its hard to know if the skins really are ripped or if it is a case of trying to run a competitor out of business.
I have just heard that the skins I spent 5k on have been DMCA’d and I will continue to wear them because I believe in the designer and her skills, and because I like them! I haven’t see the accusations or “proof” that they are stolen, so until then, I am going to enjoy what I spent a lot of lindens on.
If they do turn out to be stolen (which I am doubting) and are removed from my inventory…well I’ll be mighty miffed!
I’m still hoping someone will address how there are so many skin makers on the grid right now – that’s not fishy at all? I still don’t buy that there are more than 1 or 2 “hand drawing” anything – so eff it as far as I am concerned. Just because someone baked some textures in poser from renderosity or whatever – doesn’t make their skin legal to me – as far as DMCA from SL – what does that mean that someone stole a stolen skin? Idk having a hard time with this one.
Exactly Jordan, this is becoming a Salem witch hunt!!! just ask me about it!!
I agree with most of those who have already posted thier replies here. If its legit it will be taken all the way thru the legal process. If its a cat n mouse game to make trouble , well maybe LL’s needs to follow up on that and take a stand and actions. File false police report IRL you have some trouble. Perjure yourself IRL and you go to jail. I think if we want both worlds to work like we want , then trouble makers should suffer a fate as well.
As for how I handled keeping or not keeping , as upset as Id be over the expense if they were proven to be stolen , Im deleting them. Maybe SL citizens need a way to recoup that loss….more legal action?
I would not wear it pending the outcome of the DMCA process. Of course, that does not always prove anything because often the expense of pursuing the suit is more than any income. In that case, I guess I would go by my best judgment based on the credibility and reputation of those involved and my own lying eyes.
Unfortunately, I know that emotion and friendships influence our perceptions. I also know that many source from the same online source repositories and may have purchased the same photo sources. It’s a confusing business trying to figure it out.
i think that a dcma is hard to go by. I mean what if it is filed but then the people decide to fight it and it’s proven it’s their work. Then you have just basically thrown away something that wasn’t stolen. so to go by a dcma is a hard thing to say. now maybe if it was dcma and the designer did nothing to prove they didn’t copy maybe then, but it’s such a hard subject to tackle with out looking at it from all angles. ttyl layla
I’d do my own comparison of the skins and make up my own mind whether or not parts have been ripped and used. And if I see evidence, I will ask fellow skin creators for their professional opinion if necessary to be doubly sure, and if they see the same thing, I will delete the items in question. As an experienced (I hope I am allowed to say that after over 3 years of struggling) skin creator I probably spot things easier than someone who has never tried to make a skin or knows what it takes to make one.
Sadly a dmca is not as powerful as people think, it seems that all the accused party has to do is say, nooo I didn’t do anything, and file a counter dmca, and the original dmca just… goes away without question. And it’s then up to the accusing creator to get a lawyer, and not many businesses in SL really make enough money to be able to afford it and risk losing their business over something that is still a gray area in the court room. Do not base your decision on whether or not a dmca was accepted.
So if you REALLY want to know, do your own investigating/comparing. It also helps to ask opinions from other skin creators.
In short, ask yourselves these questions:
Do I even WANT to see evidence, because damn, I paid a lot of money for these skins? If you do: Am I willing to take the time to compare these skins myself and ask the creator what the most disputed areas on the skin are, ask for their evidence and why it is evidence, because, you are not a skin creator? And last but not least: Do I care at all?
Or you know, maybe just only ask yourself that last question and be done with it.
People are innocent until proven guilty is how I feel. But I have been personally affected by people making false claims about me and subjected to character attacks since joining second life so I may be a bit biased when it comes to accusations of any kind – personal or professional. Anyway that’s my two cents. Hugs.
i would wait and see the outcome of the dcma before deciding but i would probably just keep it in inventory and not wear it. i have a hard time deleting anything that i paid a lot of money for.
@lenora there are alot of skin creators now because there are nice templates out there like eloh’s that are free and make it easier to understand the placement of textures and where to paint. that along with the release of photoshop CS4 which lets you paint directly on a 3d SL avatar model makes stuff a bit more simpler.