SLNN Staff attended two case studies on developments in virtual worlds, featuring a talk by Eros CEO Stroker Serpentine (Kevin Alderman in RL), and the announcement by Kaneva and Turner Broadcasting about Turner's virtual television network in Kaneva. 

Serpentine provided an overview of the intellectual property lawsuit he filed against another Second Life resident who copied, stole and sold his SexGen bed. The resident had provided Linden Lab with false information during registration and needed to be tracked through his IP address and ISP to locate his real name and pursue a legal action against him.

“That was the most disappointing aspect (of the theft) – that this fellow was thinking he could act with impunity because (the bed) had no real value, because it was a game,” Serpentine said. “This is real money.”

The lawsuit made international news because of its mixture of sex, money, and virtual worlds. In pursuing an anonymous resident, Serpentine had to give up his own anonymity, filing the suit under his real life name, with media crews showing up at his home.

Serpentine said, in the half-hour-long briefing, that it's nearly impossible to protect intellectual property, and that currently, all virtual property is treated like 2D images; virtual worlds are treated like games rather than platforms not only by thieves but by the legal system.

He feels the need to pursue the court case, with lawyer Frank Taney, despite legal expenses projected to run into tens of thousands of dollars with the most likely settlement being a public apology. Serpentine believes that it needed to be done for the sake of protecting virtual rights to intellectual property in the future.

In addition, Serpentine wants to press virtual worlds makers to include features that protect content creators and stronger identification controls.

After Serpentine finished speaking, Turner Broadcasting System announced a sneak preview of their collaboration with Kaneva to provide the first virtual television network inside Kaneva, an entertainment-focused virtual world. Similar to Second Life, Kaneva incorporates 2d features like profiles, allowing users to manage image and video uploads through a web interface and adding them to their virtual spaces.

They chose Kaneva because it has a safer environment and a controlled economy. Kaneva has no scripting features and no user-generated content.