Marks：_______/100
Research on the Legal nature and Civil
Law Protection of Virtual Property——
from the Perspective of Online Gaming
Student Name：Coco Xu
Student Number: 2021102697
Major：IET
Abstract
Network virtual property is an emerging digital property in the Internet era, and
its form and type are different from traditional perceptions, leading to the gradual
surfacing of related infringement cases. Network virtual property satisfies the
connotation of "property" in civil law, but specific related laws and regulations are
still lacking. The issue of attribution of virtual property has become a problem that
must be faced. Meanwhile, with the development of technology, more citizens are
playing online games as an entertainment in their spare time. At the same time, the
industry of online games is blooming. The products are becoming more and more
diverse. Players have higher demand on the quality of games, and games that cannot
keep up with the times are easily eliminated by competing products. Since online
gaming is an increasingly popular industry where people tends to spend more money,
the virtual property in online gaming requires more attention, debates and
full-order
protection.
This paper selects the virtual property in online gaming as the starting point,
firstly discusses the nature of virtual property, then discusses the current situation of
virtual property, analyzes the cases related to online games, combines the existing
legal provisions, and determines the direction in further study.
Key words: online gaming, virtual property, rights safeguarding,
legal protection
i
Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................... i
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 the concept of virtual property .......................................................................... 1
1.2 assessment of virtual property in online gaming .............................................. 1
2. Debate about the nature of virtual property ............................................................... 2
2.1 Negative and Positive ....................................................................................... 2
2.2 Property rights ................................................................................................... 2
2.3 Creditor's rights ................................................................................................. 4
2.4 Intellectual property rights ................................................................................ 4
2.5 New type of rights ............................................................................................. 5
3. Current Situation of virtual property.......................................................................... 6
3.1 increasing attention on virtual property ............................................................ 6
3.2 difficulties of rights safeguarding ..................................................................... 7
4. Relevant Cases about Virtual Property in Online Gaming ........................................ 8
4.1 Case 1: QQ San Guo (2019) ............................................................................. 8
4.2 Case 2: Ensemble Stars! 1 (2020) ................................................................... 10
4.3 Case 3: Yun Chang Yu Yi (2022) .................................................................... 12
5. Probable Ways to promote the protection of Virtual Property in China .................. 13
5.1 Build a legal system for virtual property ........................................................ 13
5.2 improve the ways of heritage .......................................................................... 14
Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 16
Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 17
1. Introduction
1.1 the concept of virtual property
In the Civil Code promulgated and implemented in China in 2020, online virtual
property was clearly defined for the first time. The protection of online virtual
property in China was raised to the legal level for the first time.1
China's General Principles of Civil Law defines "property" as the possession of
money, goods, houses, land and other material wealth: state property, private property,
and rights with monetary value that are protected by law. However, in terms of the
definition of "property", China is relatively inferior to Western countries. For example,
U.S. property law defines property as "a collection of legal relationships with
economic or sales value that can be transferred under certain conditions". 2 Such a
definition includes emerging forms of property including virtual property.
Network virtual property refers to the labor and wisdom with exchange value that
players coalesce when enjoying the network gaming services, and belongs to a new
type of digital property. It’s main divided into virtual game category, money category,
and communication account and address category.
1.2 assessment of virtual property in online gaming
The virtual currency, virtual weapons and equipment and other electronic
information in online games are generated and embodied by the network through
codes, based on the data and shown as information. However, these data and the
information they show can only exist in the network through the server provided by
the game company, and there exist no corresponding expression form nor operational
meaning in reality. Therefore, without the technical support provided by the network
service provider, the data and the information they carry will disappear.
1
2
Pan Yan, “the Legal Nature of Online Virtual Property and its Civil Law Protection Exploration” (in Chinese)
A. James Casner ed., American Law of Property, 1952, 26.1 n.1.
1
2. Debate about the nature of virtual property
2.1 Negative and Positive
Since the existence of virtual property is an emerging concept, the controversy
over it in the legal dimension has never ceases. First and foremost is the debate about
the definition of its existence and attribution.
Those who hold the negative theory mainly target the category of online gaming.
They believe that the so-called “virtual property” is only a set of data, and players do
not produce virtual property in online gaming through labor, so “virtual property” is
not property, and naturally has no value. Some people also believe that the process of
online gaming is entertainment and has nothing to do with labor. Therefore, players’
gaming time should not be regarded as labor, and there is no value creation.
On the other hand, most experts and scholars agree on the attribution of virtual
property. Based on the fact that the value of online network virtual property at this
stage has been basically agreed by the legal theoretical experts, they believe that it
should be protected by corresponding laws. At the same time, experts believe that
online network virtual property has the relevant characteristics of "property", such as:
manageability, the possibility of value measurement, etc.3 Although online property
is stored in the hard disk and act as data in Internet and online game software, virtual
property still exists as an objective fact and has its unique exchange value in the
virtual world. Players can obtain the right to use it through monetary exchange.
In turn, the affirmative theory can be divided into the following categories:
property rights, creditor’s rights, intellectual property rights, and new type of rights.
2.2 Property rights
The first theory is property right, which, in turn, can be divided into two theories,
3
Gao Yilu, “Exploring the Civil Law Attributes of Online Game Virtual Property” (in Chinese)
2
“the right of use” doctrine and “the ownership” doctrine.
The former one argues that users do not have the full right of disposing virtual
property. The latter one considers virtual property as data records, which the owners
can equivalently access by paying time, money etc. Couple with the fact that virtual
property is of value and transaction, “the ownership” doctrine holds that the owner of
virtual property can fully dispose of and dominate it. Therefore, the importance of
protection against virtual property is self-evident.4
However, the traditional law of Property Rights Law of the People’s Republic of
China provided a clear definition of “things” in property rights, that is, they should be
tangible. Moreover, virtual property exists as data in the network through the servers
provided by the company, but this operator-dependent existence can easily be
restricted by the constraint of the operator’s technical level and business strategy. The
change is different from the objective extinction of “things”5, since the data is still
here, but the users are no longer able to “use them” as the server is unavailable.
Therefore, if the “timeliness” of virtual property is to be recognized, it may be
difficult for virtual property to exist in the system of property rights as a “thing” if its
existence do not depend on the control of the rights holder. But if we do not take the
“timeliness” into consideration, the requirement to the servers is absolutely too strict.
Additionally, although, in theory, virtual property should not be changed by the
server or the game company once it is created or fixed, but, in reality, the game
company usually update the game or even the whole platform by sending DLC and
updating patches. They might maintain the Internet space on which the virtual
property depends, but the changes they makes to the value and even the nature of
virtual property can be primary, and the players simply have no choice. 6 While some
of these changes are acceptable to the owner of the property, if a “thing” can be easily
changed without clear consequence and permission of the owner, it is difficult to
protect the ownership by using the property rights doctrine.
4
Peng Jing and Zhang Chen, “Study on the Optimization of Urban and Rural Cold Chain Logistics Node Site
Selection”(in Chinese)
5 Cui Jian, “Research on the Legal Issues of Online Gaming Virtual Property”(in Chinese)
6 Yao Xiangcheng, ”Legal Protection of Virtual Property Rights on the Internet in the Intelligent Society”
3
2.3 Creditor's rights
Different from the property right theory, the creditor’s right consider the
relationship between users and servers as contractual relationship. Therefore, the
nature of virtual property is credit relationship. For example, the equipment and
virtual money in online games are parts of the service that companies provide and
reflect the contractual relationship. The game equipment only assists the players in
playing online games, but the player does not obtain the actual ownership of the
virtual property from the service provider. Therefore, the money, effort and time paid
by the player is only a fee for the server to provide the service, not a fee to transfer the
ownership of the virtual property, as the player does not actually acquire the
permanent ownership.
However, the server itself does not control the creation of virtual property; it
depends on the actions of the player. In the action that a user tends to buy, sell or
transfer his or her virtual property, it is entirely up to the subjective whims of the user,
not the contract between the service provider and the user.
In addition, such a doctrine is actually detrimental to the protection of rights
holders’ interests. Network protocols that give rise to online virtual property are
almost 100% form contracts, and servers, out of profit-seeking, will try to reduce the
responsibility and liability of the server’s party as much as possible under the
condition that the statutory terms are all met.
Therefore, the creditor’s rights theory also does not describe the legal nature of
virtual property well.
2.4 Intellectual property rights
There are two mainstream views on intellectual property rights: the first view is
that virtual property is designed by technicians through programming based on certain
technology, therefore technicians have intellectual property rights of it while users
4
only have the right to use it; the second view states that virtual properties are obtained
by the players through completing tasks, so they can be included in the category of
intellectual property rights.
However, both of these statements are somewhat one-sided. If some users obtain
online game virtual property through purchase, thus the virtual property has
independence. If some users obtain virtual property through operating procedures
according to the design, such virtual property is neither the fruit of labor nor creative.
At the same time, intellectual property is inseparable from the fruits of
intellectual labor, but many online virtual properties are not obtained through
intellectual labor. Even for those online virtual properties to which intellectual
property protection applies, the protection can only relate to the subject who designed
and created the item, and it is still difficult for the right holder who only possesses a
“copy” to be protected.
Moreover, game data will also occupy physical space, which is not in line with
the definition of "immateriality" of intellectual property objects.7
Therefore, although intellectual property rights and network virtual property
rights look similar, they are actually different in essence. The relationship between
intellectual property rights and network virtual property rights is a crossover
relationship. It is difficult to use the protection system of intellectual property rights to
protect virtual property.
2.5 New type of rights
China's Criminal Law provides that the law protects all tangible assets, and some
qualifying intangible assets. The provisions on virtual property in China's Civil Code
and the general Principles of Civil Law are general provisions, which are difficult to
be directly used in practical trials. This clause is different from the existence of real
7
Pan Shuyan, “Risk Regulation of Online Virtual Property Transactions: A Perspective on Online Stores”(in
Chinese)
5
right, creditor's right and intellectual property right. It can be seen that legislators
identify virtual property as a new type of right. China should keep up with the pace of
the world, legislate as soon as possible to clarify the nature, subject and object of
virtual property, clarify the responsibilities of all parties, and ensure that the
protection of virtual property can be implemented.
3. Current Situation of virtual property
3.1 increasing attention on virtual property
Since the first case of network virtual property dispute appeared, the society has
paid more and more attention to virtual property. In 2003, a player of the online game
"Red Moon" claimed that he had spent thousands of hours and more than 20,000
RMB on the game. However, when he logged in his account in February 2003, he
found that all his virtual game equipment worth more than 2,000 RMB was lost. Later,
it was found that part of the player's equipment was transferred by others in the way
of account theft, and another part of the equipment was deleted by the operator
"Arctic Ice Company" for the use of plug-ins and other reasons. After several fruitless
negotiations with the game company, the player went to the municipal public security
bureau to report the case, but was rejected by the public security bureau for "virtual
goods cannot be valued". Later, the player filed a lawsuit in the Chaoyang District
People's Court, asking the defendant Arctic Ice Company to return its lost virtual
property to its original condition or pay compensation in accordance with the market
price, and match the corresponding spiritual loss. However, since there was no
precedent at the time of the case and the definition of network virtual property was
still a legislative blank, the Chaoyang District Court avoided discussing the qualitative
issue and skillfully used relevant broad and vague legal principles to make judgments
according to law.8
8
Du Xinmei. “Property Law Protection of Network Virtual Property -- Legal thinking triggered by the first network
virtual Property dispute case” (in Chinese)
6
As a new type of modern property, there are diversified definitions of network
virtual property, and network property as a legal right has gradually become a basic
consensus in law and judicial circles. But its civil legal attribute and its related rules
protection have not formed a unified consensus. The impact of virtual property on real
life is far from that of the first virtual property infringement case in 2003. All kinds of
disputes and legal problems caused by network virtual property concern the vital
interests of citizens, but also related to the development of the network industry, the
trend of the economy.
3.2 difficulties of rights safeguarding
With the continuous development of network multimedia technology, smart
phones and media have entered millions of households and are favored by the public.
However, with the continuous development and progress of network technology and
e-commerce, network virtual property infringement cases are increasing in a blowout
development trend. The infringement cases of network virtual property have now
seriously affected people's daily life and brought serious challenges to the current rule
of law, which has become an unavoidable and urgent problem to be solved under the
Chinese legal environment. Although the current our country judiciary has caused
deep concern on this issue, and a nationwide inquiry activity, but because our country
of network virtual property infringement cases no clear definition and explanation
from the law, no professional form a complete set of rules to follow up, so in the face
of judicial organs and the trial of the cases, is often difficult. The problems we face
and the difficulty of solving them are increasing.
Due to the infringement cases of online virtual property in China, there is no
professional organization to supervise and enforce the law, and no professional legal
provisions to provide legal basis for online infringement cases. Although scattered
evidence can be found in similar laws, a large number of cases are terminated due to
the lack of legal criteria. In addition, due to a variety of reasons, online virtual
7
property can not be accurately collected. According to regulations, when the public
security organ files a case, it is required that the reporter provide legal ownership of
the lost property, but the player cannot provide strong evidence to prove the
ownership of the property.9 Although the servers are in charge of the evidence, the
service providers often deny players' requests under the pretext of protecting their
customers' privacy, and the case is never filed.
At the same time, when infringement occurs, there are few successful cases of
player rights protection. The main reason is that the amount involved is not large, so
the loss is not worth the loss. Even if the law enforcement departments rarely put on
file the investigation, so many people think they have bad luck, slowly silent, it also
encourages the arrogance of lawbreakers, resulting in more and more cases, and rights
protection is of increasing difficulty.
4. Relevant Cases about Virtual Property in Online Gaming
4.1 Case 1: QQ San Guo (2019)
In June 2019, Lin spent 1,700 yuan in an online game trading platform to buy a
QQ San Guo game account, and to the game account recharge more than 20,000 yuan
to build game equipment. On July 26, Lin logged into the game account and found
that all the equipment in the game warehouse had disappeared. After reporting the
case, Lin found Mr.Xin, the game player who sold him the account, through the
platform and informed him of the theft of game equipment. Xin confessed that
because of greed, he logged in by tracing the password back and found that the
equipment warehouse have a lot of good equipment. He then transferred all of them to
his account, and sell the "Yuan Shen" and "Ao Yi" equipment, getting a profit of 5.9
billion “game coins” (conversion value 11682 yuan). In the day Lin contacted Xin,
Xin transferred all the equipment together with the game currency that has been sold
9
Huang Liujian. “Research on the status quo and Countermeasures of online virtual property infringement cases”
(in Chinese)
8
to Lin. Because of selling "Yuan Shen" and "Ao Yi" equipment in low prices, Xin
compensated Lin 500 yuan.
Whether the perpetrator’s act of stealing and selling online game equipment
belongs to the crime of stealing property crime, there are mainly the following
opinions:
The first view is that Xin's behavior does not constitute a crime. Virtual property
such as "online game equipment" does not belong to the object of property crime. The
act of stealing and selling other people's virtual property such as "online game
equipment" is just "violating the rules of the game" and cannot be identified as a
crime.
The second view is that Xin's behavior constitutes theft. "Online game
equipment" and other virtual property has property attributes, can become the object
of property crime, so Xin's stealing game equipment in Lin's game account should be
identified as theft.10
The third kind of view is that Xin's behavior constitutes a crime of illegal access
to the computer information system data. network game equipment such as virtual
property has corresponding value only in the virtual world, does not conform to the
social public recognition of public or private property, can not be punished as larceny
with, but the network game equipment, game currency, such as virtual property
belongs to the electronic data, Xin mou's behavior can set up illegal access to
computer information system data crime.
The fourth kind of view is that Xin's behavior establishes the crime of illegally
obtaining data of computer information system and larceny, and the court should
choose a felony punishment. "Online game equipment" and other virtual property
have the characteristic of electronic data and property attributes. Xin’s stealing and
selling others "online game equipment" should be identified as illegal access to
computer information system data crime and theft. Generally, larceny is a felony
compared with the crime of illegally obtaining computer information system data, and
10
Huang Jianxing, “Do Stealing and Selling ‘Online Game Equipment’ and Other Virtual Property Constitute Theft
Crime” (in Chinese)
9
one felony should be punished as larceny.
The author believes that the second argument is the most reasonable, that is, Xin's
behavior constitutes the crime of theft.
According to the provisions of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of
China and the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
on Safeguarding Internet Security, the crime of unlawful acquisition of computer
information system data refers to the violation of state regulations, intrusion into the
computer information system outside the field of state affairs, national defense
construction, cutting-edge science and technology or other technical means to obtain
the computer information system in the storage, processing or transmission of The
crime of unlawful access to computer information system data is a serious act.11
Illegal access to computer information system data in the criminal actor's behavior is
to obtain specific data, "access" refers to the possession or possession of specific data,
as expressed in a copy of the data, stored in personal computers, mobile hard drives
and private e-mail. The act of Xin did not actually copy the data of Lin's "online game
equipment".
4.2 Case 2: Ensemble Stars! 1 (2020)
Ensemble Stars! is a female-oriented idol raising hand game developed and
produced by Happy Elements, exclusively distributed by Tencent and cooperated by
BiliBili. On July 28, 2016, Ensemble Stars! was officially launched in mainland
China. On August 11, 2020, Ensemble Stars! announced that the agency agreement
between Tencent and the game developer expired and was suspended. The simplified
Chinese version of Ensemble Stars! officially ceased operation on October 12, 2020,
and closed the data migration and offline version download channel at 11:00 on
December 31, 2020. There is no social interaction in the offline version of the game,
11
The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's procuratorate "Interpretation of Several Issues on the
Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases Endangering the Security of Computer Information Systems”(in
Chinese)
10
and user nicknames, personalized signatures, and profile pages are fixed content.12
The game officials said that all game accounts will be deleted. For the diamonds
that players have topped up in the game but still haven't used (excluding diamonds
obtained from other actions) and the unexpired services, Tencent offers another
game's gift pack as a refund solution. That is, players can choose to convert the
diamonds in Ensemble Stars! into gift packs of the corresponding price level in
Fishing is Coming, which is also a game exclusively distributed by Tencent. 13
However, it should be noted that the positioning of "Fishing is Coming" and
"Ensemble Stars!" are two completely different games, so such a solution does not
satisfy most people.
Although the official statement given by the game is "Tencent's agency agreement
with the developer of Ensemble Stars! is about to expire and be suspended, after
friendly consultation between the two sides, it was decided that the Simplified
Chinese version of Ensemble Stars! will officially cease operation in October 2020",
there are actually other reasons behind it.
Based on the experience of its predecessor, Happy Elements launched the sequel
to Ensemble Stars!, namely Ensemble Stars! 2, in 2020 and launched in Japan. This is
an all-round immersive music hand game, and it is based on the Ensemble Stars! 1 IP
worldview. The reputation of Ensemble Stars! 2 in Japan far exceeded that of
Ensemble Stars! 1, and Tencent, as the developer, naturally wanted to obtain the
agency rights for it. However, the Chinese branch of Happy Elements wanted to
produce it themselves, so they did not agree to Tencent's request to renew the contract.
So Tencent chose to delete all players' accounts. Eventually Happy Elements
developed an offline version, allowing players to transfer a portion of their data to the
offline version for a specified period of time.
In May 2020, players were still celebrating four years anniversary, suddenly
everything was going to cease to exist. Virtual data is only virtual, how easy it is to
12
13
See https://www.taptap.com/topic/16244057
See https://m.weibo.cn/5547766278/4536700804272168
11
destroy them. But many players say they can't accept this ending. The game is not just
a pastime when bored, more often than not, it is a companion.
4.3 Case 3: Yun Chang Yu Yi (2022)
Yun Chang Yu Yi is a multi-world large-scale 3D ancient costume mobile game
jointly developed by Shenzhen Tencent Computer System Co., LTD and Chengdu Xi
Shan Ju Shi Technology Co., LTD. The game was publicly tested on June 27, 2018.
Like the Ensemble Stars! mentioned earlier, the game was discontinued on February
20, 2022. After the service is stopped, players can only exchange in-game purchases
for item packages of three other games (one of which is a competing game), and all
account data will be deleted after the service is stopped.14 It's worth noting that in
January of the same year, the game launched a series of events to attract players to
recharge. From the perspective of many players, this is a signal of long-term
operation.
After the official announcement, players voluntarily filed complaints through
national regulatory authorities and third-party complaint platforms, which were all
rejected for the reason of being out of scope. On March 18, the China Consumers
Association said it was pay attention on the game's suspension. On March 30, Yun
chang Yu Yi announced that it decided to stop the discontinuity and the game would
no longer release paid projects.
The Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games clearly stipulates
that online game operators shall make an announcement 60 days in advance if the
operation of online games is terminated or the operation right of online games is
transferred. Online game virtual currencies and game services that have not been used
by users of online games shall be returned to users in legal tender or in other ways
accepted by users according to the proportion at the time of purchase. 15 Although it
14
See https://m.weibo.cn/6366025393/4740353909065841
15
The Ministry of Culture, “Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games” (in Chinese)
12
was abolished in 2019, industry insiders said the interim Measures are still an
important basis for handling disputes related to online games16.
Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center at China
University of Political Science and Law, said that according to the Consumer Rights
and Interests Protection Law, consumers have the right to know, choose and trade
fairly. The compensation in Yun Chang Yu Yi only allows players to exchange gift
packages on three platforms, and the value is determined by the platform. It does not
take into account the diverse demands of players and does not give them more choices,
which violates consumers' right to fair trade.
Although now Yun Chang Yu Yi announced the stop of discontinuity, it can not be
regarded as the success of player rights protection. Because the real success of rights
protection is not to require the game to operate forever when the normal operation of
the game is difficult, but the platform can negotiate with the user before entering the
game and formulate a reasonable compensation agreement that the user is willing to
accept. Once the game stops operating, the platform can compensate the virtual
property of the player according to the agreement. For example, a third-party
appraisal department can evaluate a player's virtual assets and then offer a variety of
compensation options, such as converting them into legal tender for a refund.
5. Probable Ways to promote the protection of Virtual
Property in China
5.1 Build a legal system for virtual property
The property rights part of the Civil Code shall make specific provisions on
virtual property and grant corresponding civil rights to the legal right holder of virtual
property. On the other hand, it is necessary to stipulate the evaluation standard of the
16
See https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20220530A01KB000
13
value of virtual property to determine its protection scope, clarify the ownership
subject of the rights of virtual property according to different situations, and ensure
the stability of online transactions.17 The property rights part of the Civil Code should
stipulate the public notice system for the alteration of virtual property. The current
theory of civil law generally holds that "the change of property right of real property
should be registered in accordance with the law, and the change of property right of
movable property should be delivered in accordance with the law". The network
operator shall adopt the publicizing method of record registration for virtual property.
In addition, for the civil disputes over virtual property, it is necessary to stipulate in
the Real right part of the Civil Code that the transaction of virtual property shall be in
written form, and both parties shall conclude an essential contract, which can be used
as evidence in civil proceedings.
18
Other parts of the Civil Code should also be amended accordingly. For example,
in the contract compilation, the responsibility of network service contract breach
caused by virtual property should be assumed. In the marriage compilation, whether
virtual property can be defined as the common property of both husband and wife
during the marriage relationship under certain circumstances should be considered. In
the tort liability compilation, it should provides the remedy way when the legal owner
of virtual property suffers from infringement.19
5.2 improve the ways of inheriting
As the society is paying more and more attention to virtual property, the
inheritance of network virtual property has become a hot issue that needs to be solved
urgently, and it is also one of the issues that cannot be avoided in the amendment of
Inheritance Law. Since the birth of the concept of virtual property, its nature of
personal property has been widely recognized. From an economic perspective, users'
continued investment in the virtual world comes from the scarcity of virtual property,
17
18
19
Sun Shan, "The Configuration of Claim rights in Network Virtual Property Protection”(in Chinese)
Chen Taiqing and Yu Qian, “Analysis of the legal protection of virtual property”(in Chinese)
Li Yaxi, "On the Characterization of Civil Rights of Network Virtual Property"(in Chinese)
14
which gives virtual property and economic value, and stimulates online and offline
trading markets. Legal denial to recognize virtual property as personal property could
lead to slower growth, higher unemployment and less innovation in the web
industry.20
When amending China's inheritance Law, it is of great significance to define the
inheritance of virtual property as clear text. The system of virtual property inheritance
should at least involve the object of virtual property inheritance, the subject of virtual
property inheritance and its rights and obligations, and the procedures of virtual
property inheritance. We should expand the "scope of inheritance" in article 6 of the
Inheritance Law, add virtual property, list its scope, and take this as an opportunity to
promote the legislative process of virtual property.21 After waiting for the mature
development of the society, we can also formulate a separate law of virtual property.
Against the backdrop of an average of only 4% of users reading user
agreements22, network service providers should weigh the prompt and expression
forms of specific terms and provide specific explanations for users.
20
Carre Dobah, “Virtual Goods Transfers in Virtual Worlds: Legal and Economic Stakes”
Mei Xiaying and Xu Ke. “Theory and legislation of virtual property inheritance”
22 Hillman, Robert A., “Online Consumer Standard-Form Contracting Practices: A Survey and Discussion of Legal
Implication”
21
15
Conclusion
In recent years, with the increasing disputes and infringement cases of virtual
property in online games, combined with the fact that virtual property can not be
effectively protected by law, numerous people's legal rights have been infringed. This
situation has also been widely concerned by the legal and judicial circles, and there is
a great controversy in the civil and expert fields. If the protection of network virtual
property cannot be solved, the network industry will be severely hit. Therefore, in the
face of the harm brought by such cases, it is necessary to increase research efforts,
formulate relevant legal protection measures reasonably, adjust and standardize
traditional laws in the theory of civil law and criminal law, and standardize the virtual
property protection industry.
16
Bibliography
[1] Pan Yan, “the Legal Nature of Online Virtual Property and its Civil Law Protection
Exploration” (in Chinese)
[2] A. James Casner ed., American Law of Property, 1952, 26.1 n.1.
[3] Lu Kai, “Analysis of the Civil Legal Attributes of Online Game Virtual
Property”(in Chinese)
[4] Gao Yilu, “Exploring the Civil Law Attributes of Online Game Virtual Property”
(in Chinese)
[5] Peng Jing and Zhang Chen, “Study on the Optimization of Urban and Rural Cold
Chain Logistics Node Site Selection”(in Chinese)
[6] Cui Jian, “Research on the Legal Issues of Online Gaming Virtual Property”(in
Chinese)
[7] Yao Xiangcheng, ”Legal Protection of Virtual Property Rights on the Internet in
the Intelligent Society”
[8] Pan Shuyan, “Risk Regulation of Online Virtual Property Transactions: A
Perspective on Online Stores”(in Chinese)
[9] Du Xinmei. “Property Law Protection of Network Virtual Property -- Legal
thinking triggered by the first network virtual Property dispute case” (in Chinese)
[10] Huang Liujian. “Research on the status quo and Countermeasures of online
virtual property infringement cases” (in Chinese)
[11] Huang Jianxing, “Do Stealing and Selling ‘Online Game Equipment’ and Other
Virtual Property Constitute Theft Crime” (in Chinese)
[12] The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's procuratorate
"Interpretation of Several Issues on the Application of Law in Handling Criminal
Cases Endangering the Security of Computer Information Systems”(in Chinese)
[13] Ensemble Stars!1 offline version download instructions (in Chinese)
(https://www.taptap.com/topic/16244057)
[14] Delisting announcement of Ensemble Stars!1 (in Chinese)
(https://m.weibo.cn/5547766278/4536700804272168)
[15] Delisting announcement of Yun Chang Yu Yi (in Chinese)
(https://m.weibo.cn/6366025393/4740353909065841)
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[16] The Ministry of Culture, “Interim Measures for the Administration of Online
Games” (in Chinese)
[17] Jiang Lin, “Online Games got complaints for stopping service, account recharge
treatment lead to controversy” (in Chinese)
(https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20220530A01KB000)
[18] Sun Shan, "The Configuration of Claim rights in Network Virtual Property
Protection”(in Chinese)
[19] Chen Taiqing and Yu Qian, “Analysis of the legal protection of virtual
property”(in Chinese)
[20] Li Yaxi, "On the Characterization of Civil Rights of Network Virtual Property"(in
Chinese)
[21] Carre Dobah, “Virtual Goods Transfers in Virtual Worlds: Legal and Economic
Stakes”
[22] Mei Xiaying and Xu Ke. “Theory and legislation of virtual property inheritance”
[23] Hillman, Robert A., “Online Consumer Standard-Form Contracting Practices: A
Survey and Discussion of Legal Implication”
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