Notes on the AoIR Session

Rules of play: Games, Laws and Contracts – Greg Lastowka

Terra Nova blogger talked about his Virtual Law paper that will soon be in Games & Culture. His main interest is in how game play rules are different than rules of law. Game rules offer aesthetic structures that are counter-utilitarian. Game rules give us structure to enhance our life. Play is central experience.

Legal and game rules differ in jurisdiction, rules and rule enforcement. MMORPS take this areas to a new level. Purchase of virtual property is a key to this. Real world trade is often against the laws of the world. If play rules are not utilitarian it is difficult to understand why there are rules against trade.

Talk was based on this blog entry and paper. http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2007/10/virtual-law-upd.html#more

Investment Decisions on Shaky Virtual Grounds – Eric Goldman – Santa Clara University School of Law

A response to a lot of literature on the creation of virtual property. Virtual property gets created in an environment with a shaky legal foundation. Questionable foundations but it is continuing. It can be created through game play, real world incentives. A lot of VP trading is not happening by either. Worried that it can be whipped away in moments through inflation, exploit or in game theft. People may be just acting irrationally or they are not discounting enough. People don’t read the user agreement. Or possibly people are making rational though risky choices. Perhaps we should not do anything in terms in policy. Are people under investing in the worlds? Is the relationship like a franchisee and parent company relationship?

Metaphysical Jurisdiction: On the Inevitability of Law in Virtual Worlds- James Grimmelman- Yale Law School

The idea of this session was the challenge that VW’s have to the physical space and what “is”. This then challenges the idea of jurisdiction in a socially constructed space. The technology (server client) has jurisdiction over people’s view of that socially constructed space. It acts as uncheckable power structure. The server is imagined to be acting in a legitimate way but they have no legislation making it so. To James it is software’s fault. Because software is what it is it allows this power disparity? Open source or peer-to-peer may be a solution for this. The open source therefore creates a illusion of the real virtual world. If you open source the server it still maintains this dictatorship structure. Without consistency there lacks a “virtual world” that dissolves when there is disagreement. The sovern power in the RL is in check but no VW bureaucratic institutions that constrain and legitimize it. To do this right you need to create a public sphere. Good communication and open practices in the software can make t the exercises of power constrained. If we think agreement is the core the ToS become a contract and good place to express the restrictions of power. If, with RMT, need to be real property there are more limitations on the dictatorship.

Who Owns an Avatar? Assessing Claims of Copyright Ownership in Virtual Worlds -Tyler Ochoa – Santa Clara University School of Law

Who owns an avatar? When we enter the world we have some representation of ourselves. If you take the laws as they currently exist. Under current copyright law who owns the avatar. Sometimes folks say the game provider owns everything. Unsatisfactory because of 1) Invalid ULA 2) Certain copyrights can’t be terminated 3) logically backwards. The default rule must be viewed and worked from.  The avatar is all data. What it looks like, wears, does and says are all stored as fixed data. So an avatar is copyrightable. The company says the avatar is part of a larger world and so we own it. Deterministic theory of avatar ownership.  That might work with Mario but as the avatar become more and more complex the choices that are offered and such the model breaks down.  The more choices the more creative it is for the user. If you use Microsoft word to write a book does Microsoft own it? Of course not. Where is the line with avatars. At some point you are given enough choice gives you creative and authorship rights. Each avatar is a contribution to a collective work like an anthology.  The company owns the world, back ground and mobs. The player owns the avatar. What about derivate work like a wookie in Star Wars Galaxies?  The avatar itself might be a compilation itself or is it a joint work with the company.  How is this going to come up? Third party hacker comes in and deletes your avatar can you sue them? Is the game provider the only victim here? What about derivative work from the world. Can they take your avatar and put in a movie and not expect anything from you. If we take the approach of it is part of a collective work should it also be property. Scarcity is created to create value. Lock laboutr theory says I invested time in this and I should be rewarded somehow. If a person owns an avatar it changes the rules and interaction between the player and the game.

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