Linden Lab giveth a trademark with one hand and taketh a registered trademark away with the other. In
order to promote in-world or Second Life-related businesses, Linden Lab has launched The Second Life® Brand Center and the inSL™ trademark. Businesses with a presence in Second Life or associated with Second Life may, as long as they meet various other guidelines, sign up to use inSL™ or SL™ in their branding to show off the fact, but no longer "Second Life® (both in text and in our distinctive font), Second Life Grid™, SL™, Linden™, LindeX™, and Linden Lab®." In its place, though, users can display the inSL logo (right).
"Proper use of our trademarks is important to help you and others outside the Second Life community know which products and services Linden Lab stands behind," blogged Catherine Linden today.
That's certainly true, but the bigger question is why this is coming now. The last year brought a fair amount of legal tightening up, which some have seen as preparation for investment, a sale, or an IPO. Taking extra steps towards protecting the company brand are certainly in line with that theory, though CEOO Philip Rosedale has firmly denied any immediate moves in that direction.
In any case, users have been running rampant with the Second Life brand for some time, and Linden Lab is giving them a 90-day amnesty period to clean it up.
After working in advertising as a copy editor and writer and spending an ungodly amount of time checking trademark compliance, I don't envy the small businesses that need to play catch-up. I will say, though it's not necessarily saying much, that Linden's FAQ on the subject is one of the nicer I've ever had to slog through.
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