News, research and discussion on virtual goods, currencies and economies globally.

Legal/moral/policy issues

Legal analysis, moral discussion and suggestions regarding public policy regarding virtual property.

When is a Game Only a Game? The Taxation of Virtual Worlds

Author(s): 
Seto, Theodore P.
Year: 
2008
Publication information: 
Loyola-LA Legal Studies Paper No. 2008-24.
URL: 
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1220923

Serious Business: When Virtual Items Gain Real World Value

Author(s): 
Pollitzer, Ben K
Year: 
2007
Publication information: 
Unpublished manuscript
URL: 
http://ssrn.com/paper=1090048

Anti-Social Contracts: The Contractual Governance of Online Communities

Author(s): 
Fairfield, Joshua
Year: 
2007
Publication information: 
Working paper
URL: 
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1002997

Who owns my avatar? — Rights in virtual property

Author(s): 
Eriksson, Anders; Grill, Kalle
Year: 
2005
Publication information: 
Proceedings of DiGRA 2005.
URL: 
http://www.infra.kth.se/~kg/Who%20owns%20my%20avatar.pdf

Transactions of Virtual Items in Virtual Worlds

Author(s): 
Passman, Michael H.
Year: 
2007
Publication information: 
18 ALB. L.J. SCI. & TECH. (forthcoming Dec. 2007)

The Consumer Ethics of the Virtual Environment: An Aetiology

Author(s): 
Papagiannidis, Savvas; Bourlakis, Michael
Year: 
2007
Publication information: 
Paper presented at the 2007 IRMA International Conference, Vancouver

The Play's the Thing: a Theory of Taxing Virtual Worlds

Author(s): 
Camp, Bryan T.
Year: 
2007
Publication information: 
Working paper
URL: 
http://ssrn.com/abstract=980693

'Stranger than Fiction': Taxing Virtual Worlds

Author(s): 
Lederman, Leandra
Year: 
2007
Publication information: 
Indiana Legal Studies Research Paper No. 76
URL: 
http://ssrn.com/abstract=969984

Rivalrous Consumption and the Boundaries of Copyright Law: Intellectual Property Lessons from Online Games

Author(s): 
Schwarz, Andrew D. and Bullis, Robert
Year: 
2005
Publication information: 
Intellectual Property Law Bulletin, 2005
URL: 
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=927475

A Quest for the Legal Identity of MMORPGs - From a Computer Game, Back to a Play Association

Author(s): 
Yoon, Ung-gi
Year: 
2005
Publication information: 
Journal of Game Industry & Culture, Vol. 10, Fall 2005
URL: 
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=905748