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Virtual Land Deal in Online Game Leads to Real World Lawsuit
A Pennsylvania lawyer is suing the publisher of the online world Second Life for a breach of a virtual land auction contract as well as for violation of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. The suit may be a first-of-its-kind, in that the land at the centre of the dispute does not actually exist.
The lawsuit was started after the lawyer had his account frozen after a (virtual) land deal went bad. The lawyer claims he found a legitimate way to use the online auction of Second Life to purchase land far below market prices, and that by freezing his account and thereby cutting off his access to his portfolio of real estate and currency in the online world, the game developer, Linden Lab, has “breached an auction contract by allowing the land to auction, accepting online payment, and then suspending the plaintiff’s account.” He is seeking $8,000 in restitution.
The suit has piqued the interest of those who follow the legal and economic issues of virtual worlds, who have been awaiting a real world lawsuit over “in-game” property for some time. Second Life is one of the few virtual worlds in which its members legally own the content they create, including real estate and vehicles, as well as clothing. However, since the ejection of the lawyer from Second Life might be permissible under the Terms of Service, the case is unlikely to answer one of the most fundamental questions: whether or not such virtual items are real property.
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