Content theft

I have had to file my first DMCA. Honestly, I would have been more than happy to never have to deal with this process, as, I'm sure, would anyone who has ever been forced to file one.

One of the most frustrating parts of the entire process has been that the other party still does not seem to actually grasp what the problem is, although said party is respecting my cease and desist after I outlined my case. No, I shall not be naming names. We have reached a solution outside of court, and that is, I hope, the end of it.

This seems to be something that many people do not fully grasp (on both sides, both those doing the "stealing" and the victims): Theft of actual textures is not the only form that content theft can take. While one cannot copyright an idea, your implementation of that idea is another story. You cannot just sit looking at something someone else has done and reproduce it without their permission. This is, for instance, why shoppingcartdisco occasionally brings up the problems of reproducing real life items without permission. The actual copyright holder (or their representative) is the one who has to choose to file, the fact they have not does not mean that this practice is protected by law. In my mind, some of this is also a question of ethics, and an example that our world has become too large (in the way in which our brains are wired, we simply aren't constructed to handle the ability to care about this many people as people): would you do the same thing to a friend? Or is it "ok" because it's a stranger?

There are Fair Use allowances, and there is a muddy line between "stealing" and "inspiration" in some cases. However, there are many cases in which neither of these rules apply.


On a personal note, this is the sort of thing that can make one take a step back and say "Is this really worth it, or would my efforts be better directed elsewhere?" This is aggravation that I definitely do not need, and is not good for my well being; were it not for the fact that I have made a number of good friends in Second Life, as well as responsibilities and people who depend upon me, I very well might take all my toys and go home. There are a vast number of other things I could be doing with my time instead, in which I would not have to deal with this sort of thing. As it is, throughout this process I have had far less desire to log in, or to work on things (which is unfortunate, as I have a large number of projects that need to be done on a relatively quick timetable). At least it has been offset by some good (mostly unrelated, thank you, as getting my mind off of it is something required) conversations with people, and have had some nice positive surprises in the time.