09-06-2005 22:23									#1
	Chinese gamer sentenced to life Full PM-box? Change here!

quote: Chinese gamer sentenced to life Qiu Chengwei stabbed Zhu Caoyuan in the chest when he found out he had sold his virtual sword for 7,200 Yuan (£473). The sword, which Mr Qiu had lent to Mr Zhu, was won in the popular online game Legend of Mir 3. Attempts to take the dispute to the police failed because there is currently no law in China to protect virtual property. Buying and selling gaming artefacts such as imaginary weapons is a booming business on the web. The internet games section of Ebay saw more than $9m (£5m) in trades in 2003. While China has no laws to deal with the theft of virtual property, South Korea has a section of its police force that investigates in-game crime. Dragon sabre According to the Chinese press, more and more gamers are seeking justice through the courts over stolen weapons and credits accumulated in games. In this case, Mr Zhu did offer to hand over the cash but Mr Qiu lost patience and stabbed him with "great force" according to media reports. The suspended sentence given to Qiu means he could spend the rest of his life behind bars, although it could be reduced to 15 years for good behaviour. The parents of the dead man are planning to appeal against the sentence. "My son was only 26 when he died. He was sleeping when Qiu broke into his home. He was barely able to put his pants on before Qiu stabbed him," said his father, Zhu Huimin. "We want Qiu to die, and immediately," he added. The case has led to a debate about where the law stands on virtual property, such as the dragon sabre owned by Qiu. Following the case, associate law professor at Beijing's Renmin University of China said that such weapons should be deemed as private property because players "have to spend time and money for them". But a lawyer for one Shanghai-based internet game company told a Chinese newspaper that the weapons were in fact just data created by games providers and therefore not the property of gamers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4072704.stm

	09-06-2005 22:40									#2
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

You take Kyoto and I'll cut you man!


I wonder if any Civ games have ended in threats...or violence.

	09-06-2005 22:44									#3
	Got spare money?

Wasn't this posted a long time ago?

	09-06-2005 22:45									#4
	Support Apolyton, pre-order Civilization IV

This is ****ing crazy.


What is the status of virtual property in the US.

	09-06-2005 22:53									#5
	Suffering from ads?

This stuff doesn't really exist...I guess I don't get it.

	09-06-2005 23:55									#6
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

quote: Originally posted by Sprayber What is the status of virtual property in the US.

I've never heard of a case like this. Maybe Imran has.

I do know that virtual property is bought and sold in the U.S., so sooner or later, something like this will happen here. There was a case where someone sold the idea of using Burton and Taylor together in Taming of the Shrew. That was just an idea, very similar to virtual property. I'm betting that it's property.

	09-06-2005 23:59									#7
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

quote: Originally posted by Kuciwalker Wasn't this posted a long time ago?

IIRC a sentence wasn't handed down then.

	10-06-2005 08:01									#8
	Increase Your PM Length

quote: Originally posted by Lancer You take Kyoto and I'll cut you man! I wonder if any Civ games have ended in threats...or violence.

The multi-team demogame somethimes comes close.

	11-06-2005 21:09									#9
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

quote: Originally posted by Sprayber This is ****ing crazy. What is the status of virtual property in the US.

I think virtual property is always owned by the company which provides the service.

	11-06-2005 22:43									#10
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

they can in an instant devalue it to worthlessness but I'm not sure that they own it.