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Experts Discuss Virtual Theft And Real Crime

Posted by simoniker on from the time-to-get-out-the-virtual-handcuffs dept.

Harlequeen writes According to the BBC, police forces across the globe are looking into whether on-line theft in MMORPGs can be considered a real crime. A law expert called in by the BBC seems to think they can, but does virtual crime need real justice?" The piece takes earlier revelations about Korean cybercrime as a starting point, and Dr Roger Leng of the University of Warwick agrees that "the law has no problems treating the intangible as valuable", suggesting: "It's possible to steal any form of property right which is not represented by tangible objects."

5 of 49 comments (clear)

  1. The game as it's own law by swf · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Couldn't the game itself be considered a law unto itself?

    Look at it this way, the game was created by code, a set of rules, which defines what can and cannot be done. When you play the game you are saying that you wish to obey these rules. You are saying that you want to play a character that can beat or be beaten by other players or NPCs. It's kind of like a contract between you and the game company.

    Then if your character has it's loot stolen it's not their fault. You decided to play a game which has rules for crime. You agreed to play a game where this could happen, and so it's your own fault for getting so emotionally attached.

    1. Re:The game as it's own law by Draigon · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I think this is a testament to just how much a person can percieve a false reality as a true one. In our own reality, people questioned the rules. "I can kill, but is it right?" The rational assumption that just because something is possible does not make it acceptable. The same rationale is being applied to these virtual worlds by the players, "Just because they can steal, does that make it right?"

      Of course, it helps to have someone firmly planted in true reality to rationally sort out all this nonsense. If it breaks the rule of the code (ie- hacking) then it's legally questionable, but otherwise.. feh. Interesting, none-the-less.

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      -Rabbit
  2. Selling the Moon by _Splat · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Virtual objects are valuable because people pay for them. Simply having value, however, does not make property law apply to them. The owners of the game, of course, are effectively God and can do anything they want, including taking your objects or character. Since these objects aren't really 'yours', having them stolen is irrelevant. Selling virtual items is like selling land on the moon. You can do it, but simply giving money for something doesn't actually earn you any extra rights to that object.

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    -Splat
    1. Re:Selling the Moon by _Splat · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Nope. No liability at all, unless the MMOG provider stated it in some sort of contract. And generally they won't, since they want to preserve their right to shut the game completely when they feel like it, essentially 'stealing' all items in the game (Though they now lack resale value). If the thief and seller on eBay are somehow working together though, an argument can probably made for fraud or something similar.

      In fact, the seller has much more of an obligation for making good on his sale than the game owner does for maintaining a consistant universe, since the game owner essentially decides what the object does and what can be done to it in terms of the rules of the game.

      I also think, that in most cases, if something is done in violation of game rules, (hacking, conning people) the game owner stands to gain by enforcing the rules himself, even though it doesn't have to. Having an RL market for game objects brings more active players to the game, and if the integrity of the market is suspect, fewer players will play. While the owner is under no obligation to enforce these rules, it's definitely in his best interest.

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      -Splat
  3. Re:In an environment... by I+am+Kobayashi · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I agree if the item is "stolen" in the game within the rule set then that is probably not a crime.

    But just because the game company owns the item doesn't mean you don't have a right to use that item. If the company decided to delete the item, you may not have a claim. But if someone hacks your account and steals that item, I strongly believe you do have a legitimate claim. Instead of thinking of a magic item in the game, think of your apartment or a leased car. You don't own the car you lease, you don't own your apartment, you are only allowed to use them because of your agreement with the true owner. But you could still sue if someone stole your leased car or broke into your apartment.

    As noted in the article, the biggest problem would be educating the court as to the nature of the item and game, but courts need to be educated in most cases dealing with highly specialized or technical facts, so I don't think this would be a large problem for a good attorney...

    As an aside, I think many other laws apply to in the game actions. For example, I strongly believe "griefing" could be actionable under tort law as intential infliction of emotional distress...

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    --Kobayashi--