[IP] Gamer wins back virtual booty in court battle
Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2004 15:28:31 -0300
From: Claudio Gutierrez <cgutierrez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [IP] : Gamer wins back virtual booty in court battle
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
the rest of the story about the chinese gamer shed light about how the
virtual worlds are affecting the *real* world:
"But the case is just another example of how the line between online games
and the real world have begun to blur. Some gamers already trade game goods
and characters for real money through online auction sites like eBay."
And from an article written by Paul Tyrrell from Financial Times
"It is the rise of internet auction sites that has enabled MMOG [massively
multiplayer online game] players to sell imaginary items to one another, on
the understanding they will be exchanged by one another's avatars within
the game. On eBay, for example, a special category has been set up to deal
with these goods which now has a weekly turnover of more than 28,000
trades, with a total value of more than $500,000 (£282,000).
Typical items for sale include spells (from about $5), property (up to
several hundred dollars for a house or castle, depending on size and
location) and avatars themselves, which are proving the most valuable
commodities. This month a rare "Jedi knight" in the Star Wars Galaxies game
sold on eBay for $1,900.
The currency used in the games is also being traded. On December 6 a block
of 100,000 Norrathian Platinum Pieces (the currency used in the EverQuest
online game) was sold on eBay for $65, implying an exchange rate of just
over 1,538 to the dollar.
There are even reports of real-world companies being set up to trade in
imaginary goods. One such company claims to have more than 50 full-time
employees in the US and Hong Kong.
Of course, as soon as an imaginary item is given a value in the real world,
it can potentially be protected by real-world laws."
Claudio Gutiérrez
On 08/01/2004 12:33, Dave Farber wrote:
-----Original Message-----
From: Denise Caruso <denise@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2004 06:21:30 To:farber@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Fwd: Gamer wins back virtual booty in court battle
Dear Dave,
I thought this might be of interest to IP'ers.
Denise
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994510
A court in China has ordered an online computer games company to return
virtual belongings to a player whose account was hacked and looted.
The Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing ruled last Thursday that
the company must return the player's virtual stash because it had allowed
the theft to take place in the first place.
Li Hongchen, 24, spent two years and more than 10,000 yuan ($1,210),
amassing a cache of virtual money and weapons in the online game Hongyue,
or Red Moon.
In February, however, Hongchen found his belongings had been pilfered by
a hacker who gained access through the game's central servers. The
software firm behind the game, Beijing Arctic Ice Technology Development,
responded that his possessions had no real world value and represented
only piles of data. Hongchen took the company to court requesting 10,000
yuan in compensation.
I exchanged the equipment with my labour, time, wisdom and money, and of
course they are my belongings, Hongchen told the Chinese news site Xinhuanet.
[snip]
--
Claudio Gutiérrez
Business Improvement Ltda.
http://www.improvement.cl
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