Making the Case That Virtual Property Is a Bad Idea

Posted by timothy on Thursday August 13, 2009 @07:07AM from the contrarians-just-can't-get-along dept.

pacergh writes "Many legal commentaries on virtual property argue that it should exist. Others argue why it can exist. None seem to explicitly spell out what virtual property will look like or how it will affect online worlds. Lost in the technology love-fest are the problems virtual property might bring. The Virtual Property Problem lays out a model for what virtual property might look like and then applies it to various scenarios. This highlights the problems of carving virtual property out of a game developer's rights in his creation. From the abstract: '"Virtual property" is a solution looking for a problem.' The article explains the 'failure of property rights to benefit the users, developers, and virtual resources of virtual worlds.'"

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Re:It's Already Legally Governed, Drop It by genner · 2009-08-13 07:15 · Score: 4, Informative

Slashdot says I own my comments. Star Wars Galaxies' Terms of Service says Sony owns my items and characters.
Personally, I find the entire concept of someone saying they own your stuff to be strange. Or, indeed, someone else saying they don't own your stuff.
It's called a rental. Why do you think you have to send them money on a monthly basis.