Following on from the discussions about permissions being needed to take still photographs in a sim, there is widespread confusion about what permissions are required in order to film machinima in SL. Different people at different times have given confusing opinions.

For those who haven't come across the term before, machinima is animated action which is filmed inside a game or platform, using something which isn't primarily an animation programme.There's a wide variety of film shot in SL, from promotional material for the platform itself, to fictional films, from how-to films, to short advertisements for SL products.

I contacted Catherine Linden to ask for some guidance on the Linden Lab attitude to the question, and received the following reply:
"Linden Lab does not give permission to
anyone to film in Second Life because we don't own the content.
However, I do like to say that filming in Second Life is like filming
in NYC. Generic street scenes and landscapes can be considered
"fair use" but filming individuals without their permission is not
advised, just like in real life."