I couldn’t resist blogging quickly about this intriguing story, courtesy of The Guardian: a British MP wrote a formal question to the British government asking them to ensure that in-game theft be treated the same as real world theft. Answer: nope (ish), but it does raise a real question which judges are already addressing…
Category: Virtual Goods/Currency/Property
Games law update, June 2012
Hi everyone – here we are for another games law update…
The use and legal status of virtual goods and currencies
I gave a presentation last year to Social Gaming 2012 about virtual goods practice and law – somehow I didn’t put it up on Gamer/Law. Here we go:
Games Law Round-Up: January 2012
There’s so much going on these days in games law, I don’t have time to write about everything sadly. So, I thought that every month or so I’d do a round-up of the notable developments. Here’s the first one – let me know what you think… It has been a BUSY start to the year… Continue reading Games Law Round-Up: January 2012
What happens when a game with virtual goods closes?
This is a post by Jas and Jonny Mayner. As reported last week (see here and here) casual game developer ZipZapPlay (owned by PopCap since April 2011) will be putting up the “Shop Closed” sign at Baking Life on 31st January 2012. The Facebook game reportedly once attracted 6.7 million users per month, but at… Continue reading What happens when a game with virtual goods closes?
Gamer/Law’s ten 2012 predictions
You’ve guessed it: I thought I’d jump into the it’s-a-new-year-let’s-make-some-predictions business for 2012. And, like all forward-looking predictions, I’ve mixed a few safe bets with some slightly more “punchy” predictions (which FYI is lawyer-speak for taking a massive bet on something!) Here goes, in no particular order:
Virtual goods, real rights?
In his second guest post, my friend and colleague Jonny Mayner gives his thoughts on the state of virtual goods and the law. Jonny is a trainee solicitor at Osborne Clarke.
Blizzard, Valve and the future of virtual goods
This is a long(ish) post about some moves that Blizzard and Valve have recently announced regarding Diablo 3 and Steam respectively, and what they mean for the future of virtual goods in games. Here’s the short version for lazy sods:
The second virtual goods crime: is Runescape theft, theft?
The Dutch Supreme Court will be invited later this year to conclude that the theft of virtual goods from Runescape constitutes theft under Dutch criminal law; indications to date suggest that it may conclude that theft of virtual currency/goods IS criminal theft. To my knowledge, this is only the second time that a Western court has… Continue reading The second virtual goods crime: is Runescape theft, theft?
Gold farmer turns WoW gold into real gold, loses it, sues
An Australian woman is suing her insurer over the theft of 74 bars of real gold bullion worth $74,549, which she bought using profits made from gold farming in World of Warcraft. Adelaide Now reports that Kristina Fincham was a (clearly successful) gold farmer in WoW who sold in-game gold to players in return for… Continue reading Gold farmer turns WoW gold into real gold, loses it, sues