Potential Profit for 'Second Life' Lawyers
Second Life is a fantasy cyberworld where people are represented by “avatars” with unusual names. Lawyers who join the online community can write constitutions, establish court systems and debate legal issues. But the virtual world also holds some profit potential.
Washington, D.C., lawyer Stevan Lieberman is learning that lesson, Legal Times reports. His law firm, Greenberg & Lieberman, “is filing real trademark applications, landing real clients and making real money through the virtual world.” It has grossed about $20,000 from business obtained by avatars who learned of Lieberman (aka “Navets Potato”) and his expertise.
The ABA Journal pointed out the profit potential in its March 2007 feature story, “Fantasy Life, Real Law.”
The video world has also generated some real-life legal disputes, according to the Legal Times story. The private company that owns Second Life, Linden Lab of San Francisco, has been sued for a “virtual land deal gone bad.” And another suit claims a user infringed the copyright of a Second Life businessman.
