Gold Farming illegal in China?

According to the official news release of Ministry of Commerce the People's Republic of China:

China has unveiled the first official rule on the use of virtual currency in the trade of real goods and services to limit its possible impact on the real financial system.

The government also spelled out the definition of "virtual currency" for the first time, which includes prepaid cards of cyber-games, according to a joint circular from the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Commerce Friday.

"The virtual currency, which is converted into real money at a certain exchange rate, will only be allowed to trade in virtual goods and services provided by its issuer, not real goods and services." it said.

More references and comments:

InformationWeek

CNET

Virtual goods news

Law of the game

Terranova

CNN

Play no evil


and CNBC video:

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MacArthur Foundation enters the Metaverse

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Virtual Worlds and the Law at Metanomics

How emerging case law and legislation will affect the future of virtual worlds?


Discussion with the participation of prof. Robert Bloomfield and James Gatto took place yesterday on Metanomics islands.









you can also watch the video here

to read the transcript click here

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Notes on the State of Cyberspace

Quite interesting interview with David Post, one of the most original thinkers about the Internet and digital culture, the author of the widely acclaimed new book "In Search of Jefferson's Moose: Notes on the State of Cyberspace".



The example of fraud in Second Life starts at 05:30.

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Taser International, Inc. v Linden Research Inc.

On April 17, 2009 Taser International Inc. filed a lawsuit against Linden Research Inc. and others containing various trademark infringements. Taser claims unauthorized sell of virtual versions of its electric stun guns. The company seeks damages in excess of $75,000. The list of defendants is strictly related to Linden Lab and covers not only entities like Virtuatrade, LLC (the former owner of XStreet SL) but also individuals (generally Linden Lab's management).

The complaint alleges that Linden Lab and others are engaging in conduct which is damaging to Taser’s reputation and hurting its sales. Taser also claims that its brand will be damaged via association with virtual sex and virtual drug use occuring within Second Life. One of the businesses that makes Taser replicas (The Newman Group) does a trade in an urban role-play called The Crack Den.

The suit is entitled Taser International Inc. v. Linden Research Inc., 2:09-cv-00811, and is venued in the U.S. District Court, District of Arizona (Phoenix). The case will be heard by the federal judge Roslyn O. Silver.

It is the first time a major company has sued Linden Lab for infringement which occurred in Second Life.

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Don't be an outlaw

With a reference to the previous post...




Machinima.
...It has been hailed as the art form of the 21st century.
...It is redefining music videos.
...And reinventing the videogame.
...It might be the future of cinema.

But there's a catch: if you make machinima, you might be breaking the law.

Register now at http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/playmachinima

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Machinima Law Conference

Play Machinima Law is a two-day conference that will explore a series of key issues relating to what is often called "player-generated" or "user-created" content based on digital games or created in game and virtual worlds. Experts from the major players in the digital game arena, lawyers, practitioners, and academics will convene at Stanford to discuss the legal issues associated with gameplay in regards to user-generated content, machinima, and game-related practices.

date: April 24 - 25, 2009, 8:00am - 5:00pm

location: Stanford Law School

sesions: link here

agenda: link here

speakers: link here

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