Art is something that we enjoy and pay a ridiculous amount of money without even blinking once or twice in hope of such art is forever “mine.” There is a physical transaction when a person buys a piece of art from an artist, and so it’s very much the same for a kid who buys a video game from a mall. Internet changes the game a bit by allowing people to download games for a fee, but people still have a physical attachment to their video game belongings by playing them.
In the video game world, people can become a super hero — who has the ability to do great damage to evil empire! It’s an art to relieve a person from daily stresses, but there are studies that claim video games can be a great harm to the gamers for they who may not be able to distinct the differences between a virtual world and the real one. Some studies suggest the opposite by praising the fact that gamers may find comforts in a virtual world, and for this reason gamers may be productive in real life. Whichever way the argument sways or inclines toward, isn’t it crazy for gamers to sue a video game company for a virtual property? The line is blurry!
There aren’t many laws (if there is any) that can address the virtual world, because it isn’t real! It’s hard to tell the gamers that their virtual world is all made up, and real world laws aren’t fitting to address all virtual things. There must be new laws design specifically to address such a world, because the current laws can only be applied to real world — there is no parity between the virtual world and real world. Although one can use the laws that are applied to real world properties to address virtual properties, but the values for the virtual properties are hard to grasp since virtual properties are like arts. The value of a piece of art is according to the eyes of a beholder. One can never say one pays too much for an art, but the opposite can always be equally true. This is an exact case that the court has to deal with; people are suing Linden Lab for rights to outright own virtual properties in Second Life — a virtual world/game that Linden Lab has created and maintained.
What would you say? Should people be able to own virtual properties the same way they have owned their real world properties? In the Linden Lab’s case, people are seeking for Second Life’s real estates. Do you think Second Life’s real estates have true value outside the realm of entertainment and pleasure? How can one appraise a virtual real estate? Nonetheless, the plaintiffs are seeking for $5 million in damages or more, because they didn’t like the changes of the terms of service that Linden Lab made regarding to virtual real estates in Second Life. I guess it’s all coming down to the judgment of the eyes of a beholder. Source.: Can people actually ‘own’ virtual land?
Vinh Nguyen
