In some ways, this almost couldn’t be further from my earlier post wondering about brand/trademark conflict inside the Second Life virtual simulation (Link) and still be in the same virtual space: Terra Nova has posted an entry concerning the use of the Red Cross logo in videogames. From the post (Link):

The Canadian Red Cross wants game developers to stop using the Red Cross logo in games, claiming trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and playing the “support the troops” card by suggesting that use of a red cross in games removes the “protective value” of the mark in real war zones.

Typically, a response to something like this is “Screw the Man”; a little more difficult to do in this instance. However, that’s a good thing since we should hear a different debate. The discussion both on Terra Nova and elsewhere will hopefully prove interesting, so if you’re interested in virtual world business and legal issues, I’d suggest keeping an eye on Terra Nova’s comment section.

And the winner is… Design Innovations. This kind of thing is always of interest to Industrial Designers; there are few topics as hot as Who Owns The Rights. You can read the full press release from the winner’s attorneys (Link) but here are excerpts:

… a jury has found that toy company Fisher-Price misappropriated a concept developed by Design Innovation for use in the Fisher-Price Rescue Heroes line of products. … The jury awarded Design Innovation damages of $1.7 million and also found Fisher-Price guilty of unfair competition, having acted in bad faith in its misappropriation of the toy concept. … Design Innovation and Reiling conceived of an idea for incorporating a still or moving image into each of the Rescue Heroes’ backpacks. This would allow a child to view the respective characters on rescue missions, thus increasing the play value of the toys. … Design Innovation and Reiling had presented their concept to Fisher-Price in 1998, who informed them that they were genuinely excited by the concept and then paid the inventors two option fees to secure the concept and prevent it from being taken elsewhere. … In 2001, Fisher-Price introduced a line of action figures and related accessories that incorporated images in their backpacks — similar to the concept presented to them by Design Innovation and Reiling … Fisher-Price argued that they had independently created these products after having seen and optioned the Design Innovation and Reiling concepts. The jury rejected this argument.

I suspect I’ll hear more since Design Innovations is in my neighborhood. If anything interesting comes up, I’ll update this entry.

via Core77

Here are a few excerpts from a short Reuters news article carried by Yahoo! (Link):

Virtual reality visual feedback cues can help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to walk more quickly and lengthen their stride, Israeli researchers report.
…
A virtual reality system that incorporates the user’s movements into a visual display that provides feedback has been shown to improve gait in patients with Parkinson’s.
…
The findings support the use of virtual reality-based approaches to rehabilitation in patients with MS, as well as other types of neurological disorders, they conclude.

I wish there were more articles like this one; and more discussion and interest as well.

If you’re familiar with Second Life then you’re probably aware of the ongoing attempt to integrate the Mozilla source code into the SL client to provide “HTML on a prim” (translation: a Firefox-like internet browser mapped as a texture onto a piece of in-world 3D geometry). The potential benefits for this feature – especially when it becomes interactive and not just a static rendered texture – have quite a few “virtual” businesses excited.

There have, however, been some problems. From the Second Life forum announcement:

Callum has just sent this information to interested parties:
“uBrowser is an simple Web Browser that illustrates one way of embedding the Mozilla® Gecko rendering engine into a standalone application using the LibXUL framework. The contents of the page is grabbed as it’s being rendered and displayed as a texture on geometry using OpenGL. You are able to interact with the page (mostly) normally and visit (almost) any site that works correctly with Firefox® 1.5. It’s the by-product of some work I’m doing here at Linden Lab (http;//lindenlab.com) to enable an embedded browser in our Second Life (http;//secondlife.com) software. There are only a few remaining show stoppers, such as control inputs through plugins, that remain to be fixed. We hope that with the help of the open source community and Second Life’s residents, we’ll be able to rapidly resolve these bugs. Source code, executable and build instructions are available at http;//ubrowser.com “

And now, in an attempt to facilitate their overcoming these roadblocks, from Cory Linden’s blog we have this additional announcement (Link):

So, think you can fix it? If you do, I’ll give you a private island in Second Life, including both the up-front cost and the monthly dues for one year. Note that the solution must work on Windows, Mac, and Linux — or, if we’ve fixed it on one or more platforms, on the platforms that are still unsolved.

Good old capitalist incentive. This should get things moving. Excellent.

{Image source: uBrowser}

Here’s a follow-up to my earlier post (Link) regarding the Suicide Girls-in-Second Life situation. This has been posted to the Second Life forums by Wilder Linden as a result of some controversy brewing around this situation:

Suicide Girls in Second Life FAQ

Q. Is there a deal/agreement/contract between Linden Lab and the Suicide Girls?
A. No

Q. Were the Suicide Girls approached by Linden Lab to join Second Life as a part of a program or promotion?
A. No

Q. Were the Suicide Girls given a special offer to check out Second Life?
A. Yes

Q. Do the Suicide Girls owe Linden Lab something in return?
A. No

Q. Why did Linden Lab do this?
A. There is an interest in seeing how existing web communities can extend what they offer members by having a virtual space where they can meet and interact. The Suicide Girls have a very active community and Second Life is a good fit for them to be able to meet and greet each other as well as their site members.

Please remember that the residents in Second Life with the last name Suicide are like all residents and deserve to be treated according to the Community Guidelines and Standards.

There will be more web communities in the future joining Second Life as we continue to grow and expand and they should be given the chance to make a home just as we all have.

I am always willing to talk with concerned residents in world and would ask that you respect other residents’ right to privacy.

From reading some of the comments that preceeded this post, it’s apparent that some of the reaction is based almost entirely on the industry in which the Suicide Girls operate. This isn’t entirely surprising; however, given the … freestyle … nature of Second Life, the degree to which this is offending some of the residents is somewhat surprising to me.

It’s no secret that Second Life is a destination for many people interested in cybersex. There’s even been recent news about the website/blog now rating SL escort services… with far less community reaction of the sort I’m referring to above.

Guess we’ll just have to see how this particular injection of reality fares in the virtual world.