American Bar Association Reaches into the Virtual World

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The American Bar Association has caught the wind of the big cash in the gaming industry, including what pertains to things virtual rather than real, resulting in the formation of a virtual words committee. Here's an excerpt from Jonric's (RPG Vault staffer) blog at IGN:

In light of the amounts of money flowing through the massively multiplayer / multiuser space, it's inevitable that we'll see increasing involvement at the government and legal levels. One such step that came to my attention today, although I don't know precisely when it happened, is the ABA's formation of the Virtual Worlds and Multiuser Online Games Committee within its Section of Science & Technology Law. Its stated focus is to "address issues that presently exist, including but not limited to virtual property rights, virtual securities trading, crimes committed in virtual worlds, taxation of transactions of virtual property, and the legal rights of participants" while also seeking to identify potential problem areas.

 

What will we lawyers get paid for in these cases...gold pieces, virtual dollars?

 

... they want to tax virtual property ...?

 

Soneone PLEASE tell me this is a joke.
"virtual property rights"?
"taxation of transactions of virtual property"????
"crimes committed in virtual worlds"????????????????
Yes, I understand where they're coming from, but... this is too stupid for words.

"You're under arrest for letting your virtual character kill someone else's virtual character"

 

They must be making a new player character class: The Lawyer.

+5 to intimidate, diplomacy, sense motive, perform, and bluff
Dual Wield pen and briefcase for no penalty
-5 to move silently, Listen, and Concentration
Cause Fear beginning at level 2
Lay on Paperwork at level 3
At level 7, the lawyer may "Call Associate," a henchman magically appears to do the lawyer's bidding
Particularly susceptible to Confusion spells

 

Will items in Diablo 3 include Sales Tax, or will we need to submit those ourself?

 

I'm still wondering how you commit a crime in a virtual world.

 

Simple: you kill something, or take something that doesn't belong to you. If you've played just about any game ever created, you've committed a virtual crime. I was trying to think of a single game where you don't, but I can't. I suppose the Police Quest games are the exception... but then again the new character class (re Sir Bel's post) could argue that you were impersonating an officer of the law, which in just about every country (even virtual ones?) is a crime anyway. Same for WW2 FPS games, you're impersonating a soldier.

 

Yeah, but if you're able to kill and steal; that's within the game mechanics. Usually, it's the point of the game. So what do we need lawyers for if it's within the rules of the game? Seems like it's just a development issue that can resolved with a patch, not the courts.

 

So much for playing rogues...

 

Starfox, I guess the crimes refer to hacking into someone's account and such.

 

From the Horses Mouth

 

Oh, now I get it after reading about that Wi-Fi Liability program. Apparently, I was confused as to their definition of a "virtual world".