In what appears to be an unprecedented, but clumsy attempt to apply real-world trademark law to virtual reality, the maker of Taser stun guns has sued the creator of the Second Life website for selling virtual Taser products.

Taser International, Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR) has yet to sell anything virtual itself, but alleges that the “virtual weaponry” sold to role-playing Second Life residents –- ranging from a “Glock 17/Taser X26 Combo” to a “VGS Long Range Taser Gun” -- threatens its virtual business future.

“Plaintiff TII ... will suffer the loss of substantial dollars in sales and profits that Plaintiff (or its licensees/franchisees) would have made but for Defendants' acts,” the complaint, filed last week in Phoenix, says.

The case may be the first in which a real-life intellectual property owner has alleged virtual-world infringement of its property. The defendants include Second Life creator Linden Lab and its principals and Xstreet SL, an online store acquired by Linden in January.

Attached as exhibits to the complaint are graphic sexual images reproduced from Second Life. By associating Taser products with such content, the suit says, the defendants have damaged Taser's reputation.

In addition to unspecified damages, Taser is seeking a court order enjoining Linden Lab from using the word Taser “near or with pornographic, lewd, or lascivious imagery, or near or with any unlawful drug-related material.” Two product listings on the Xstreet site included the words "crackden" and "Taser."

Real-world courts have yet to venture far into the virtual world. An adult entertainment businessman who sold a Second Life "sex bed" won a consent judgment in his copyright suit against another Second Life resident and Linden Lab settled a breach-of-contract case filed by a resident who had acquired parcels of Second Life real estate.

Taser seems likely to misfire because, at the very least, it cannot show a likelihood of  consumer confusion.

According to the complaint, the “goods and services” for which the defendants use the Taser marks “are likely to be sold to the same customers and through the same channels of trade in which Taser provides its goods and services ... via www.taser.com.”

Taser's customers are law enforcement agencies and it defies belief that cops –- or anyone else for that matter -- will somehow be confused into believing the virtual Tasers are legitimate versions of the real thing.

Xstreet now offers only a “VGS Long Range Stun Gun,” with all the Taser product listings having been removed from the site. The products were sold by The Newman Group, an “affiliate vendor” which is not named as a defendant in Taser's suit.

"Taser is a registered Trademark of Taser International Inc. and not affiliated with the Long Range Stun Gun or VGS Black Market," a disclaimer now says.

As for proximity to pornography, Taser complains that “all of the Defendants that sell virtual weaponry like Plaintiff's real ones ... also sell adult-only explicit images and scenes ... thus attaching such content to the Taser mark.” One of the images included in the exhibits comes from the "Bondage Ranch” role-play area of Second Life.

But this is a far cry from, for example, a magazine publishing an ad for a Taser stun gun next to one for an escort service. Trademark holders simply cannot expect to have the same control over the display of their marks in the virtual world as they do in the real world.

By Matthew Heller
4/21/09