Second Life Patent & Trade Mark Office opens
The Virtually Blind blog reports that the Second Life Patent & Trade mark Office (SLPTO) has opened within the virtual world.
SLPTO states on its website that its goal is "to provide the tools to allow you to protect your intellectual property, without expensive attorney's fees or long, drawn out processes". No relation to real-world IP offices, then. Also unlike real-world IP offices, SLPTO is not a government-appointed office and so has no 'official role' as far as the outside world is concerned. Whether or not it succeeds in establishing itself therefore comes down to the popularity of what it offers to Second Life residents.
Virtually Blind reports that the SLPTO "plans to eventually offer a full suite of intellectual property protection tools, including individual item registration, automated DMCA notices and copyright applications, limited edition numbering, and private, time-stamped storage of evidence of creation."
It is not known whether any public figures or celebrities (real or otherwise, whether A-list or X-list) were there for the grand opening.
Could the SLPTO perhaps be committing an offence under section 112 of the UK Patents Act 1977?
Posted by: David | 30 October 2007 at 05:23 PM