Virtual trademark protection

Virtual trademark protection: The Reuters SL blog has an interesting article about the threat/opportunity posed/available to brand owners (and in particular luxury brand owners) concerning the replication and creation of unofficial products in Second Life.

The Reuters post mentions Benjamin Duranske, founder of the Second Life Bar Association and his excellent blog Virtually Blog, so excellent in fact, it’s on the K Zero blog roll.

I’m taking a more pragmatic view on virtual counterfeit goods in Second Life, in most instances. Sure, if someone in SL is outwardly trying to make money from flogging unoffical goods then they deserve the cease and seizure orders, however, there’s a lot of residents who have gone to great lengths to re-create real world products in SL and they know the income they make/can make from selling them is at best marginal. These are people that in many cases are strong brand advocates. Brand owners need to develop a dialogue with these people and see how they can augment their virtual world activities into real world marketing.

More information about luxury brands in SL and the opportunities presented to brand owners can be found in the K Zero Luxury sector case study. Request it here.