When the world of fandom and amateur publishing collides with the world of intellectual property law, there are usually sparks. The decision by Linden Lab to start being professional about its trademarks is a classic example of this, as can be seen by this (typical) post on MindBlizzard.
To summarise: Linden Lab has created a special logo aimed at companies wanting to advertise their presence in Second Life. It can't simply let them use its Second Life logo or the Second Life trademark, because of the potential for consumer confusion - the prime reason that trademarks exist.
However, as is standard with legalese, lots of people are reading this as an attach on the vast community which surrounds Second Life and talks about it incessantly.
Before we go any further, I'd suggest people go read the excellent PubLaw article on trademarks, and specifically this bit:
"It is important to remember that the only type of use by an author that may suffice as a "fair use" of another's trademark is the use of the mark in a non-trademark sense. It is also possible that the "overuse" of another's trademark, even in a descriptive sense, may not be considered fair use. This is because the repeated usage by the author could lead to a likelihood of consumer confusion based upon a presumed connection or sponsorship with the trademark owner.
The fair use defense if it is to be successful must meet the following requirements: (1) the author's use of the mark must accurately describe the trademark owner's product or service; (2) the author must use the mark in a non-trademark manner and not as a source identifier of the author's work; and (3) the author's use must be in good faith."In other words, if you are using a trademark in a way which makes it clear that you have no association with Linden Lab, that you're not part of them or sponsored by them or that your work is approved by them, you're fine. Specifically, you can always use a trademark nominatively - that is, to refer to the product, service or company that it's a mark of. You don't need the permission of the trademark holder, and you don't have to follow the terms of any licence they want to impose As long as you do this, you're OK. There is no legal requirement to include a trademark symbol, or a written acknowledgment of trademark, as long as there is no potential for confusion and it is clear that you are referring to the specific thing. Yes, this means you don't have to follow Linden Lab's guidelines over use of "Second Life" to the letter, although if you're a corporation I'd suggest you do anyway to cover your ass. As long as you're not using their trademarks in a generic way or suggesting that Linden Lab approves of what you're doing you should be fine. What if your blog is called "The Second Life Foo"? Here, the clear thing you need to do is ensure that there's no suggestion that it's created, sponsored, or related to Linden Lab. Just stick the disclaimer that Linden Lab has provided somewhere on your blog. What if you've called your business "Second Life Building Inc"? Here, you're likely to be on much stickier ground. Consider this: Would you call your company "Coca Cola Building" and expect that to be OK? Best option is to just change your name. You can, however, use the trademark descriptively in your material - ie "We create buildings in Linden Lab's Second Life virtual world". So is all this a storm in a teacup? Yes and no. Linden Lab isn't doing anything that it ultimately doesn't need to do, legally. It has to protect its trademarks, not just for itself but also to ensure that there's no potential for consumers to be confused about its involvement in third parties. In creating the "inSL" logo programme, it's made it a LOT easier for businesses to advertise their presence in Second Life without infringing trademarks, something that's always a major concern to business lawyers. But, as is often the case with Linden, it's not communicated this well. There's been no explanation of WHY it's doing it, or how it affects existing businesses. For a company that's founded on community, it does community outreach extraordinarily badly. And given that the community is what makes Second Life so compelling, both on a personal and business level, that's a worry.
