These policies are a part of, and should be read together with, the Terms of Service for Second Life . Capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this document have the meaning ascribed to them in the Terms of Service.
Descriptions of pricing for various aspects of the Service are available at:
The following billing and pricing policies apply to fees and charges for Second Life:
1. You may access Second Life through an account that does
not have an access fee, or through a subscription account that has a
recurring fee. These accounts have different features and limitations.
Linden Lab offers free access to the Service through accounts that
require registration, but do not include an access fee or recurring
charges for access to the Service ("Access Accounts"). Only one Access
Account is permitted per unique user; additional Access Accounts for
the same unique user require a one-time access payment. Uniqueness of
users is determined in Linden Lab's sole discretion. Linden Lab also
offers access to the Service through accounts that require registration
and regular recurring charges ("Subscription Accounts"). The features
and limitations of Access Accounts and Subscription Accounts are
provided at Linden Lab's sole discretion.
In addition to the applicable access and subscription charges,
recurring "Land Use Fees" will be charged to you depending on how much
virtual land you hold within the Second Life world, and fees will apply
if you use the Linden Dollar Exchange.
2. Access, subscription fees and Land Use Fees are payable in advance.
All access and subscription charges for the Service are payable in
advance. Land Use Fees are charged once each month, and will reflect
the peak amount of land you held during the month. Linden Lab is not
responsible for any charges or expenses you incur resulting from
charges billed by Linden Lab in accordance with these Terms of Service
(e.g. overdrawn accounts, exceeding credit card limit, etc.). By
providing a credit card number or other payment method with advance
authorization features (e.g. some PayPal accounts), you authorize
Linden Lab to continue charging the payment method for all charges due
Linden Lab until your Second Life account is settled and is terminated
by either you or Linden Lab. Linden Lab reserves the right to limit the
number of accounts that may be charged to a credit card or other
payment or identification method per unique user.
3. Recurring charges have billing periods, which are usually aligned to bill on a single day for each billing period.
Subscription Accounts are offered on a monthly, quarterly and annual
basis. Monthly accounts will be billed monthly on the same date of each
month (e.g. the 10th of each month), beginning on the day you start
your subscription. Quarterly, or "90 Day" accounts will be billed
quarterly on the same day (e.g. the 10th of every third month),
beginning on the day you start your subscription. Annual accounts,
including beta charter accounts (no longer available but still
recognized), will be billed each year on the same date, beginning on
the day you start your subscription. Lifetime accounts (if and as
available from time to time in Linden Lab's discretion) and paid Access
Accounts will be billed in full at the time of purchase. Land Use Fees
will be billed 30 days following the first land purchase for users not
already paying recurring monthly fees. Land Use Fees will be billed on
the first billing date following the in-world land purchase for users
already paying recurring monthly fees.
4. You may change your billing plan.
If you decide to change your plan, for example from monthly to a
longer-term plan or vice-versa, you may do so at any time by using your
account information page on the Second Life Website. The new plan will
go into effect but your credit card or other payment method will be
charged with the new rate when your current subscription period billing
cycle ends.
5. Under certain circumstances, you may receive service credit for unscheduled downtime.
You will be eligible to receive Service Credit toward recurring
service fees (e.g. monthly account fees, 90 Day account fees, annual
account fees, and Land Use Fees) for Unscheduled Downtime. "Unscheduled
Downtime" is an unplanned or unscheduled interruption in Service
availability for a period of at least twenty-four (24) hours during
which you are unable to access the Service. Unscheduled Downtime is
measured from the end of the time the Service is 100% unreachable for a
period of at least twenty-four (24) hours until Service is once again
restored. The following are excluded from the calculation of
Unscheduled Downtime: (i) scheduled maintenance downtime; (ii) problems
outside of our Service (upstream providers, or your inbound connection)
not affecting 100% loss to our Service; (iii) interruptions or failure
of Service caused by you or your representatives (including inaccurate
configuration, third-party software, abuse or over-utilization of
resources, hacked servers, attacks, exploits, or server hardware
failures); and (iv) causes beyond Linden Lab's reasonable control and
occurring without Linden Lab's fault or negligence, including natural
disasters, wars, terrorist acts, riots or other violent upheaval,
governmental restrictions and actions, and performance failures of a
third party outside Linden Lab's control. The amount of any Service
Credit will be based on the pro rata percentage of Unscheduled Downtime
during your billing cycle (e.g., if there is 1 day of Unscheduled
Downtime in a 30-day month for your monthly account, you will receive a
Service Credit for 1/30th of your recurring service fees). Any Service
Credit will be credited to you during your next billing cycle.
6. The Linden Dollar Exchange has additional listing rules and fees.
By use of the Linden Dollar Exchange: (a) you authorize Linden Lab
to administer the purchase or sale, as applicable, of Linden Dollars
associated with your account and facilitate transfer with the other
User of the Service account or accounts involved with such Linden
Dollar transaction, (b) you agree to pay the listing and transaction
fees posted on the Service website in connection with the Linden Dollar
exchange, (c) you authorize Linden Lab to charge your credit card or
other payment method on file with Linden Lab for the applicable listing
fees, purchase amount, and transaction fees and related charges, and
you promise not to deny or decline any such charge, and (d) you agree
that you are responsible for complying with all applicable laws and
paying all applicable taxes for your transactions through the Linden
Dollar Exchange, other than the taxes on Linden Lab's Linden Dollar
Exchange fees that Linden Lab may collect from you as a deduction from
sale proceeds.
Linden Lab may change the Linden Dollar Exchange fees at any time;
changes will be applicable to all listings placed on and after the date
of any such change. All Linden Dollar Exchange fees are non-refundable.
Upon matching a sale order with a buy order, Linden Lab will complete
the transfer of Linden Dollars among the User of the Service accounts,
net of service fees, delinquent amounts due to Linden Lab applicable to
the seller's Accounts, and applicable taxes. Linden Lab will remit the
net proceeds to the seller through the payment method or credit offered
by Linden Lab and elected by the seller; provided that in the event the
seller does not specify the payment method, or the elected payment
method is not available for technical, administrative or other reasons
in Linden Lab's sole discretion, Linden Lab shall remit payment by
check.
7. If you choose to reactivate a cancelled account, you may be charged a fee.
At the end of a subscription period or other account cancellation by
you, your cancelled account will become dormant for 60 days. If during
that time you want to reopen your account, you will be able to return
to your My Account page and click the "re-activate" button at which
time you will be prompted to review billing details to confirm that the
plan you want is selected and that your credit card or other payment
method is still valid. Linden Lab may require a reactivation fee in the
event Linden Lab determines, in its sole discretion, that activation
and reactivation of an account is being conducted in a manner designed
to evade compliance with this Agreement or other Linden Lab policies
and procedures. If, for any reason, your credit card or other payment
method cannot be charged or payment is withheld, your account will
become dormant as if you had cancelled it. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, Linden Lab is not obligated to reactivate or retain any
cancelled account, and any effort to do so is at Linden Lab's sole
discretion.
8. If your account is cancelled, Linden Lab may attempt to
sell your virtual land in order to satisfy your existing obligations;
in which case a resale fee not exceeding the land sale proceeds will be
charged to you.
In the event that Linden Lab suspends or terminates your Account,
you understand and agree that: (a) Linden Lab may attempt to sell at
auction any "virtual land" (i.e. the instances of simulated land
associated with your Account) that you hold in Second Life, and that
any money received from such auctions will be applied to satisfy your
existing obligations to Linden Lab and others, as determined by Linden
Lab in its sole discretion; and (b) in addition to any money that you
owe, you will be charged the lesser of (i) the aggregate amount
received from such auctions and (ii) one hundred dollars ($100) (the
"Resale Fee") as reimbursement for costs associated with the resale of
virtual land. Any money remaining from the sale of land after the
repayment of your obligations and the Resale Fee may be returned to
you. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no money will be returned to you in
the event that your Account is terminated due to suspicions of fraud,
violations of other laws or regulations, or deliberate disruptions to
or interference with the Service.
