"In this paper I argue that it is inappropriate to use property law to settle disputes over player-characters in MMORPGs as there is neither the legal nor philosophical basis to support that view that player-characters are property. Moreover there is a strong argument to suggest that a player-character is an extension of self, thus it is human rights that should be extended to cover them and thus by implication any other instantiation of self within a virtual environment. This paper is fully referenced and covers contemporary intellectual property law as well and an application of Locke's theory of property to virtual worlds."
A paper the author, Ren Reynolds, submitted to a conference. Sounds like an interesting fellow, someone we might run into again in our studies. This paper is a Word document available for download (I have it - let's print it) or you can view it as HTML (kinda sloppy) through Google.
Posted by justin at October 27, 2002 04:32 PMhm. one criticism from Koster's "declaration of the rights of the player" is that a player avatar is not human. he argues, is a chess piece human? does it deserve rights?
i'm not sure Mr. Reynolds has a legal leg to stand on...
Posted by: jane at October 27, 2002 09:37 PM
nevertheless, it is extremely interesting that players are striving to create a social/legal framework to reflect what they feel, which is that their avatars are themselves, somehow.
where does such a strong identification come from? merely the investment of time? energy? will we begin to accept that this feeling is a reality and not a freakish over-identification? and will our legal and social systems adjust to respond to this new society?
this is the stuff of sci-fi novels!
Posted by: jane at October 27, 2002 09:44 PM