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cc-eyebeam - [cc-eyebeam] legal implications of multiplayer games

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Subject: Creative Commons-Eyebeam Forum 2003 November 12-19

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  • From: jippolito AT guggenheim.org
  • To: cc-eyebeam AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [cc-eyebeam] legal implications of multiplayer games
  • Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2003 23:17:18 -0500 (EST)


To broach a new topic, there have been several articles and a conference
recently devoted to the emerging concepts of law and self as applied to
computer gaming. "Sheriffs of Norrath" (<A
Href="http://blogger.iftf.org/Future/000160.html";
target="_blank">http://blogger.iftf.org/Future/000160.html</A>) is a
provocative essay on how legal concepts may become increasingly relevant in a
massive multiplayer game such as Everquest, whose virtual economy rivals that
of many real-world nations.

There are a number of situations in which this sort of "virtual law" might
affect players of such games. One is in which a player feels wronged within
the game--"Hey, this is my dungeon!"--and looks first to the local
authorities within the game, and then to the game developers, for help.
Obviously game developers want to build a world that polices itself, but that
tends to lead to overly restrictive gameplay, which undercuts the distributed
power a gaming community wields in shaping those environments.

Another outstanding legal question is who owns virtual property created by
the players. You may have sold your Everquest chainmail for $300 on eBay, but
Sony claims to own everything produced on Everquest. Legally game owners can
enforce any ownerships they want, but this strikes many avid gamers a bit
like Windsor-Newton claiming to own every watercolor painted with one of
their brushes.

Finally, the author of the essay muses about whether at some date in the
future online characters--especially those with sophisticated artificial
intelligence--might warrant their own rights. Such avatars have shown a
certain amount of persistence beyond their original owners--as in cases where
an avatar is sold online to be taken up by another player.

I'm not a gamer, but it seems to me that the legal issues emerging in these
massive virtual communities may bear on the broader issue of whether
individuals or corporations will wield more control over data created in
communal contexts.

Cheers,

jon




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