I was reading through wired.com based blog and I came across one that was aptly named "gamelife". It had a post pertaining to a virtual theft that happened in Final Fantasy XI. Its not surprising that that local police couldn't charge the alleged perpetrator of the virtual theft, who was actually a friend of the actual FF XI player. The investigators blatantly told the player that the items were devoid of any monetary value and hence the suspect cannot be charged with any kind of criminal law. It is still difficult to frame laws for virtual heists and the real issue seems to hinge on people's definition of the term "monetary value".
"After the loss of almost $4,000 USD in virtual goods and currency, Final Fantasy XI player Geoff Luurs brought his case before the Blaine, Minnesota police department only to be refused any kind of aid.
Instead of arresting the alleged perpetrator of the virtual theft (a friend of Mr. Luurs), police investigators told Mr. Luurs that virtual items "are devoid of monetary value," thus no crime had actually been committed.
While it's not surprising that police were unwilling to aid Mr. Luurs, Joshua Fairfield, an associate professor of law at Washington And Lee University feels the police hesitance was due entirely to the amount of money lost. He commiserates with Mr. Luurs and says that, "the first time IBM loses $10 million, we're going to see some police action."
It's long been speculated as to how police forces would react to virtual theft, and many gamers had come to the conclusion that the police would do nothing long before this incident proved them correct.
While we'd like to think there would be some kind of legal recourse for the loss of any property with monetary value, the real issue seems to hinge on people's definition of "monetary value."
Perhaps Mr. Fairfield is right and we'll have to see a high-profile company like IBM take a major hit before the police of the world will have enough precedent to believe every 20-year-old who claims his roommate stole his +5 Helm Of Rat Punching.
Then again, it's not hard to imagine that scenario creating a ridiculous strain on law enforcement agencies.
In the end, we seem to be left with what the games' creators have told us all along: guard your login info with your life and trust no one."
http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/02/police-refuse-t.html
"After the loss of almost $4,000 USD in virtual goods and currency, Final Fantasy XI player Geoff Luurs brought his case before the Blaine, Minnesota police department only to be refused any kind of aid.
Instead of arresting the alleged perpetrator of the virtual theft (a friend of Mr. Luurs), police investigators told Mr. Luurs that virtual items "are devoid of monetary value," thus no crime had actually been committed.
While it's not surprising that police were unwilling to aid Mr. Luurs, Joshua Fairfield, an associate professor of law at Washington And Lee University feels the police hesitance was due entirely to the amount of money lost. He commiserates with Mr. Luurs and says that, "the first time IBM loses $10 million, we're going to see some police action."
It's long been speculated as to how police forces would react to virtual theft, and many gamers had come to the conclusion that the police would do nothing long before this incident proved them correct.
While we'd like to think there would be some kind of legal recourse for the loss of any property with monetary value, the real issue seems to hinge on people's definition of "monetary value."
Perhaps Mr. Fairfield is right and we'll have to see a high-profile company like IBM take a major hit before the police of the world will have enough precedent to believe every 20-year-old who claims his roommate stole his +5 Helm Of Rat Punching.
Then again, it's not hard to imagine that scenario creating a ridiculous strain on law enforcement agencies.
In the end, we seem to be left with what the games' creators have told us all along: guard your login info with your life and trust no one."
http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/02/police-refuse-t.html
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