*Update #2 10/4/26 - Please scroll down for the most recent events.*
Update: 10/3/26 - after 1am I got a message and note card from Kira saying the PrimFeed post has been changed, and that the item in general has been removed from their platforms. Indeed, now the PrimFeed post is their new version of wings.
The note did not have the requested link yet. But now I really have to go to bed!
~
A fairly large brand in Second Life put out a pack with a fairy costume and a 3D mesh copy of my wings in faded colors.
The Elora wings in the photo only came out about a month ago, so I was especially bothered by finding this.
I reported them to Linden Labs, then contacted Kira Icon / Scandalize to let them know and give them a chance to resolve it themselves.
They halfway did - they changed the wings in world to something different. BUT they left the Marketplace listing up, as well as the PrimFeed post announcing the release and having a giveaway.
I waited, and another day passed without them doing anything to the Marketplace listing or the PrimFeed post.I left the DMCA open because they had not fully resolved things yet with that MP listing still up.
Usually, LL acts very slow with DMCAs, which is why I was surprised to get a message from Kira Icon this morning upset that the costume pack had been removed by LL via DMCA even though the wings had been changed.
They still wouldn’t give me the link for where they found the reference image.
The explanation for it doesn’t match up with them providing the image they referenced all covered in their own watermark.
Even though they said they claim no ownership of the wing design they found.
I responded to them. Notecard screenshots below.
I emailed Linden Lab after they told me about the edited listing being removed, and I asked them to reinstate only the in world vendor with the changed wings.
Kira also said in her response this morning that she has the link, that they were on Pinterest. But I could not find those wings in a Pinterest image search using both the image they gave me and my own wings. Nothing else even close out there.
However, if you search for ‘fairy wings’ my wings are usually in the top row of results and these specific wings turn up only from my own site or socials.
They openly use a lot of gen AI, and their mesh wings look like they were automatically generated via a program that creates meshes from photos.
I also did several image searches and the only wings that look like that are mine, from my accounts.
They did not announce the discontinuation of the first wing design or explain why they or the whole fatpack disappeared to their customers or store group, so people were talking about it in their chat group and asking why the fairy costume was gone.
I explained what happened to the best of my ability, especially since I wasn’t trying to get the new edited version removed & I think LL messed up there.
I hope that I’m provided with the source of that image, which looks like gen AI was used to generate this version with the flowers on it, and with assurance that the copies won’t go back up
That’s if they truly did find it elsewhere under false pretenses. If so then my anger should be directed at whoever that is.
*On 10/3/26 after 1am PDT I was messaged by Kira Icon and sent a note card saying that the PrimFeed post had been edited to show the new wings, which was true when I checked. She also said she’s removed everything related to the wings from all platforms and deleted the files until everything is sorted, that she doesn’t want to create any more problems or misunderstandings while this is being resolved. She says once I let her know the DMCA has been withdrawn, she’ll feel comfortable moving forward with her new wings.
She ends it with “Thank you again for being so kind and understanding with me. I really appreciate it, and I’m very glad that everything is finally being resolved.
She was very polite, and I was glad to see things weren’t going to escalate into a defamation thing. That NC is below.
Early this morning on 10/4/26 I got 2 more NC’s from Kira. In the 1st one she explains that she found the wing image on Pinterest.es, but that she can no longer find it & that it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.
She says there’s no metadata, no way to know the source, She’s sees that I made this blog post and asks me to remove the screenshots of our conversations, that she didn’t consent and now considers this matter closed from her side.
This, below, is a new version of the image she first sent me that previously had “Scandalize RL Wings” all over it on a black background, just the left side. Now she says this is the original, the watermarks are gone and there are 2 wings mirrored on either side now, with a white background instead.
I can’t find this version of the image either, even on Pinterest.es using it as an image search. Not my original Elora wings either even though a lot of my work is plastered there by other people against my wishes & with no credit.
Pinterest is actually very, very good at image search. I could click on one of my older wings and it will immediately bring up a page of all the same image on Pinterest. If this is the original image it should show up, but it’s not visible there anywhere.
This is where I have my doubts that everything has been100% transparent, but, it is true they took those other steps, some later than preferred but they did. I never got an answer about why they put their own watermark all over the first version they sent me, only the left wings on a black background.
I may change my mind, but, I don’t feel I owe this person the deletion of their words as they said them, so people can see them exactly as they were without any possible bias in my recounting of things.
This is as much for my benefit as it is theirs, so no one comes away with a false idea of what happened.
I’m going to move on from this as well, as it’s wasted enough of my time.
I’ve had worse copyright situations, but I’ve also had better. I’ve had people pay me for at least some of the profit they made with my design, if not all, and even let their customers know what happened to make sure to give me the proper acknowledgement - although that last one has been very rare.
I’ve been in the situation of accidentally posting something that was presented as free to post by a third party with presumed authority, or I was unaware of the laws at the time. Happened only a couple times I can remember and long ago. I’d post a Story or other blurb to let my followers know and give the artist or photographer their kudos.
They were nice in their communication, and they did take some good steps to resolve things but the threads left hanging that have me needing to put the factual details out there are:
• I still don’t have a source, which could mean they generated the image OR that they really didn’t save it, pin it, etc. I may never know.
• No answer to why their watermark was on the first image sent, and it seems odd that they’d put their watermark on something they said isn’t theirs & found online. Don’t know why they didn’t give me the unedited original first.
• I haven’t been paid any portion of what they made in sales.
• Their customers were left in the dark and the wings in the costume pack changed without notice.
I’ve been slandered, libeled, faced defamation for protecting my copyright and it’s been too common for people to lie about the situation. For that reason it’s important to me to show exactly what we each said.
There’s no private information at all in these messages, I don’t even know their real name, and there’s no Non-Disclosure Agreement made by both. Nothing is legally private and if I took them down it’s easier for people to be told that I’m lying & have them believe it just because I’m the smaller brand and not familiar to them yet.
If they stand behind their words, I don’t understand the problem with displaying them.
I’m sure they’ll be fine as they have a lot of loyal followers & a lot of people don’t care about copyright whatsoever. So I want to put this, and myself, to bed now. I appreciate her kindness despite my doubts about the transparency of their source.