Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Lawyers C&D Virtual Museum

I was saddened to read this morning that the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum in Second Life (FLWVM) is scheduled to go offline on December 10. This is following a Cease and Desist letter they received from the lawyers of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (FLWF). The Foundation was created by the architect to preserve his legacy, and had previously been in agreement with the virtual museum and was allowing them to use the name and images. Rik Panganiban has his take on the story here.

This virtual museum expertly shows examples of Wright's buildings, discusses their history and context, and provides staff members to keep the museum fresh and staffed. In short, it's one of the very best examples of implementation of a virtual museum that I know. Adding insult to injury, it was only in August that the IRS granted the FLWVM 501(c)3 non-profit status.

But you don't have to take my word for it.


Fallingwater house depicted in Second Life, FLWVM (click for high-res)


Not a Competing Product

Typically, these sorts of Cease and Desist letters occur when there are competing products, such as the recent issue with Battlestar Gallactica roleplaying in Second Life, where they are in the works of creating a MMOG based on the same material. It's clear where this is a competing interest. While a reason has not been stated, I spoke to a member of the FLWVM staff and there is not a competing virtual museum being planned. Quite the contrary, FLWF is simply having difficulty imagining a way to earn money from the museum. So they're shutting it down.

This need not happen, though.

This is the Foundation's goal, as stated in their introduction on their website:

"the Foundation is engaged in a broad range of activities to preserve Wright’s legacy; provide opportunities for the public to learn about the principle ideas embodied in his work; increase public awareness of the importance of architecture to society and the individual; and stimulate a demand for excellence in architecture and design." [sic - incorrect semicolon use]

... and while I'm not quoting the entire page, I believe this quote epitomizes the entire goal. So why, then, do I see a letter on the SL Educators list from, a "Former Membership Chair, Frank Lloyd Wight Building Conservancy" claiming their opinion is that:

"the only way the Foundation can perpetuate itself (and for how long is anyone’s guess) is to make money from the licensing of FLLW assets"

being the primary reason why they'd shut down a virtual museum that made them little / no money.

It Can't Possibly Be About Money, Can It?

So we are supposed to believe that an educational foundation would kill a project they'd previously supported because it didn't involve a business plan for them to make money? I don't see the sense in this.

I might see the need for budget if this required a person at FLWF to spend a significant amount of time liaising and/or supervising the virtual museum, but I have heard nothing but good things about the museum, from colleagues, and I don't see how that could be. If this is the case, however, then I think there's a variety of experts with virtual worlds and social media who could suggest how to best route visitors in the virtual space into one or more of the FLWF's licensed vendors. (Since FLW's work / style is reproduced in everything from posters to clocks to furniture.)

The FLWVM is More Important to FLWF than Vice Versa

The virtual museum provides free education to people all over the world about Frank Lloyd Wright's work. I'm a professional virtual worlds developer, and I can vouch for the high-end quality of the work. In addition, I've seen plenty of educational ventures that get built and atrophy due to lack of maintenance, and this is a good example of best practices with museum space in a virtual world.

Why Should I Care?

Are you an educator? You should care that one of the best examples of education in virtual worlds is going away.

Is your company using virtual worlds in an enterprise setting? Are you often defending virtual worlds from naysayers who don't accept the validity of the platform? A great example of a serious use case is going away.

Are you a developer with virtual worlds? This is one more good example that you won't be able to cite anymore, since FLWF doesn't see the value.

Are you interested in architecture? I don't think I need to say more.

How You Can Help.

Clearly the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation does not see the value in a virtual museum. I believe we need to tell them the value. This is especially true for any educators out there who are using this as a teaching aid, because that is central to FLWF's stated goals. And while I wouldn't necessarily expect to stop the closing on December 10, I imagine the creators of the virtual museum have already backed up all content, and would be ready to take them out of storage if FLWF changes its mind in a few weeks or months.

From the Co-Executive Director of the virtual museum: " We cannot invite or encourage anyone to contact or write directly or indirectly to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. "

So that means if you want to contact them, you should check here:
http://www.franklloydwright.org/fllwf_web_091104/contact_us.html

There's an email address. Email takes 2 minutes. You know what I'm saying. Or if you're more inclined, give them a call or write them a snail mail letter. While you're at it, I wouldn't mind you sharing this blog post, or clicking the "Digg" button on this article and Digging it up to help spread the word.

UPDATE 1: 3pm EST, 12/2/2010
John McKnight reacts.

UPDATE 2: 8:50pm EST 12/2/2010
Covered by Tateru Nino.

UPDATE 3: 11am EST 12/3/2010
A more complete list of updates here.