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Can Avatars Make Contracts?
edadams sends in a story about the legal questions that are starting to crop up over property disputes in virtual worlds. A lawsuit in March 2008 that stopped one Second Life user from selling a virtual product created by another user marked the beginning of a significant amount of casework for several law firms, in large part due to the way Second Life's currency interacts closely with real money. (And yes, apparently the product in that particular case was for cybersex — did you have to ask?) "As transactions grow in volume, it's inevitable that disagreements will crop up. Linden says that although it will enforce its terms of service, including its ban on violating other users' intellectual property, it can't settle most disputes for users." A lawyer for one intellectual property firm handled a case in which the co-ownership of virtual real estate had to be determined, ending with a financial settlement given to two users who helped a virtual land developer run a group of Second Life islands. As virtual worlds get more popular and their business models more directly affect real-life finances, we can expect these legal issues to become more common as well.
Ultimately for a contract to be valid, both sides have to agree to it. The signing a piece of paper isn't required. "Paint my house and I'll give you $100" is a contract (assuming it's a genuine offer). The only problem is it's hard to prove that I agreed.
So, you can agree to a contract via your avatar, but considering the nature of Second Life, there's a decent argument that nobody believed it was a genuine agreement.
In short, don't be a moron. Get a real contract, in real paper, and sign it with your real name (and make sure they do too!)
Yes!
a contract isn't valid, if it is for an illegal activity...you can't uphold a contract for prostitution
Prostitution isn't illegal everywhere. Just try to renege on your obligation to pay for personal services in Amsterdam and see who the cops throw in jail.
Have gnu, will travel.
So, I take it you play EVE Online.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
>Wow! They've productized cybersex?
It was a product line with a variety of custom made animations, each of which represents dozens or hundreds of hours of work, and is by all means a tangible medium of expression and as such is subject to copyright law.
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
"Cybersex" is not prostitution. It's more like writing erotic poetry (sans skill).
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
I'll be honest, I used to help run a virtual Cathouse. The girls involved were VERY talented and took their 'job' very seriously, and we never had an unsatisfied customer. For some of the women, it helped them in Reality get over intimacy issues, or escape some real life hardships, much like some escape into a good book.
Those days are gone for numerous reasons, but not due to the lack of quality of the hired.
THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!!!! eventually.