Research On Legal Issues Of Virtual Property Tort In Online Games

My country’s current legislation on virtual property is in its infancy,and there are no clear regulations on the definition of the nature of virtual property,the ownership of rights,and how to protect it in the event of virtual property infringement disputes.For example,the nature of the punitive treatment of game player accounts by game operators is determined: some courts consider it to be an online infringement dispute and believe that online game operators have no right to impose penalties on players’ game accounts;while some courts consider it to be online In service contract disputes,it is believed that such acts belong to the field of party autonomy,and the court should not intervene.The determination of right relief and the scope of applicable law cannot be separated from the discussion of the nature of virtual property and the ownership of rights.As the issue has not yet formed a unified conclusion in the academic circle,there is no specific legal regulation.Therefore,in the current trial practice,since neither legislation nor theory provides effective guidance and clear theoretical guidance for court judgments,courts can only make judgments based on their different understandings.In addition,while resolving disputes,compensation is bound to be involved.At present,in judicial practice,there are different opinions on the handling of compensation for tort damage in such cases.Some courts held that the player’s claim that the player’s demand for the exchange of game virtual property in RMB lacks a legal basis,and that the online game operator should be ordered to directly restore the player’s virtual game property or the game operator should compensate the player for virtual property at his discretion;some courts held that it should be Compensation will be discounted according to the market price of the game currency recharge,the player’s cost and other standards.At the same time,there are different opinions on the claim of compensation for mental damage.Some courts believe that players have spent a lot of time and money on the game,which is of great significance to the players.Therefore,their claim of compensation for mental damage should be supported.Some courts hold that players do not have spiritual property rights to game virtual property,and players have no right to request compensation for spiritual damages.Starting from three typical cases,this article summarizes the focus of disputes about virtual property in online games in the current trial practice,analyzes the legal reasons behind it,and puts forward its own opinions and judicial suggestions.This article is composed of three parts: introduction,main text and conclusion.The main text is divided into three chapters for discussion:The first chapter is the basic situation of the case.By searching and sorting out three representative cases of online game virtual property infringement on the Chinese judgement documents,and summarizing the focus of the case: whether the online game operator’s punitive treatment of the player’s game account and other virtual property constitutes Infringement? If it constitutes infringement,how to determine the specific amount of compensation?The second chapter is a legal analysis of the above focal issues.First,analyze the opinions of the theoretical and practical circles on the identification of the nature of online virtual property.At present,the identification of the nature of online virtual property is mainly the theory of property rights,the theory of creditor’s rights and the theory of new property rights;secondly,there are types of disputes between game operators and players.In terms of identification,it is an analysis of tort disputes or contract disputes.Finally,a legal analysis of the value determination standards of online game virtual property infringement disputes and whether they are applicable to compensation for mental damage is carried out.The third chapter mainly summarizes the analysis content of the legal problem in the second chapter and expounds the enlightenment obtained from it.Based on the research of scholars and the court’s handling attitude in practice,this article believes that virtual property infringement disputes can be resolved without the need to distinguish virtual property.It is only necessary to improve the protection of virtual property in the relevant legal provisions.Secondly,in terms of right ownership,the virtual property of the game is recognized as the player’s property rights,and the punitive actions of the operators constitute infringement.Regarding the determination of the standard of compensation for infringement damages,this article believes that market price discount compensation should be applied.Finally,in the enlightenment part,we mainly publish judicial interpretations on the relevant provisions of the Civil Code to improve the protection of virtual property in online games;publish guiding cases to provide reference for the courts and unify judgment standards;establish a database of virtual property in games to improve trial efficiency and save judicial costs;Finally,the establishment of a virtual property value evaluation and insurance system,unified virtual property value determination standards,in order to maximize the avoidance of game players’ property losses.