Virtual Property:the Realization of Rights and Value〔* 〕

Liu Zhihui

(School of Law Beijing Institute of Information，Beijing 100068)

Ⅰ．Proposing of the problem

Despite the rapid development of network industry in China，there is still certain gap between our recognition of the legal nature and the protection of virtual property and that of the developed countries．Therefore，there are differences in the prices．The trade and cooperation of online games require no intervention of the third party to realize the exchange on the equal basis of items．However，there are some apparent defects in online purchase in that some websites will neglect the offline deals between users and players or take no security measures to escape from possible responsibilities and avoid risks．

Yang Lixin holds that virtual property generally refers to the network and the digital content of network，a new type of property with digital value which can be determined by realistic standard．Yu Zhigang deems that virtual property，as the virtual product of cyberspace，can be referred to as the latest form of property of human society which has been already closely connected to real life．

According to relevant researches，virtual property at the macro level generally refers to all intangible digital existence on the internet at individual disposal．There is distinguished difference between virtual property and real property．The terms of trade of virtual property can be fulfilled by online exchange and offline exchange．The latter refers to the situation where both parties can connect with each other despite that they are not both online，but on condition that the one party should make explicit the prices of virtual items．Even if the seller is offline，the buyer can carry on the transaction by means of real cash or the labeled value of the virtual items．This mode of trading can be risky in that some players will close the deal by following some word tips．The ascription of liability can be disputable if errors occur．

Virtual property in the broad sense even includes the network itself．Virtual property in the narrow sense is dependent in that it is born with the operating activities of online operators．Apparently，the existence of virtual property is confined in the virtual world．Connections will be made via various media and platforms to construct the social relations of the virtual world．Many problems of virtual property can be solved by legal methods．First of all，opinions vary about the connotation of virtual property among domestic scholars，which has not been clearly defined in the judicial circle．

Therefore，virtual property refers to the mechanism of property rights and value regulation of the virtual property in the virtual world．The market economy in the reality can be reflected into the virtual online world．It is the restoration of the real life that gives rise to the virtual asset in the games．Hence，the realization of the value of virtual property depends on the restoration mechanism so as to better define the value and ascription of liability．

Ⅱ．Route setting and safety realization

Generally speaking，there are different ways to secure virtual property due to different environment．Considering this fact，the identification of the rights and value is also different．The effect of virtual property in the virtual environment corresponds to its value，which can be seen as a type of rights．In terms of internal environment，the value and rights of virtual property lie in the commercial value and legal means to secure it．In terms of external environment，the identification of the rights and value should be fulfilled from two aspects，namely free operation and charge operation．According to the current system，the legitimacy of the rights and value of virtual property depends on the legitimacy of game operation．Legal operation can guarantee the rights and true value of virtual property．Illegal or non－authorized virtual property is not protected by laws．Objectively speaking，virtual property is a new type of rights which do not belong to any type of rights regulated by laws at present in China．

The discussion on the ownership of virtual property contributes to the further observation of the true value of virtual property and identifies some relevant problems．With the rapid development of network technology，people tend to relax themselves on the internet．However，there is no legal validity concerning the ownership of rights and the identification of value，which，therefore，can give rise to many inharmonious disputes．

Of course，the situation where operators are out of operation can also give rise to disputes concerning the ownership of the rights of the virtual property．Some operators are forced to go out of business due to the fierce competition．Some game developers or platform operators tend to stop operation on purpose，expecting to reduce the loss to the largest extent when experiencing dismal business and poor operation．Some restriction methods made by the nation can also force the network operators to stop their operation to some degree．Besides，the loss of data can also make it impossible to identify the ownership of the rights of the virtual property．Virtual property can be transferred or stolen by the network operators，administers or the third party．It is quite easy to steal users’virtual property because the network operators and administers have apparent advantage in control，which，however，is tend to occur less frequently on condition that the management mechanism made by the operators are perfect．There is a chance that the third party takes advantage of the imperfection of operators’security and enters the game programs or the network platform to steal the virtual property of the players and users．Without the cooperation of the operators，users or players，as vulnerable groups，need legal weapons to identify the ownership of the rights of the virtual property after their virtual property is stolen by the third party．

Ⅲ．Current situation and countermeasures

There is dialectical relationship between the definition of the right of virtual property and virtual property，which is similar to the relationship between the right of property and property．There are many documentaries abroad which study the rights and value protection of virtual property on the internet，such as online games property and social platform virtual property．However，relevant domestic study is quite limited．As is known to all，virtual property exists in the virtual environment．Disputes on the rights and value of virtual property in China mainly center on the online games about role upgrading．Civil disputes on virtual property are caused by the dissatisfaction mentality of the game players．Based on the rules set by the operators，some game players will adopt illegal measures to meet their needs in the games when their demands are not satisfied．On the other hand，some players will rely on the network platform and deal with other players in the games to seek more profits and acquire greater achievement．

At present，rules and regulations on the disputes on virtual property in China are based on the wide application of Consumer Protection Act．The value protection of virtual property in China needs legal evidence to reach the final judgment．

As the network system is one type of property，the invasion of the network system constitutes the legal invasion of chattels．Besides，when the case of virtual property is judged in America，the loss of personal benefits will be considered so as to identify the final decision of the case．If some unacceptable contents are forcedly sent to the private e－mails via some technical platforms，then it can be affirmed that personal benefits have been impaired．That is to say，emails email system is protected as personal territory in American courts．

Virtual property is seen as a code and a virtual property right in America．There are differences in the recognition of the rights and value of virtual property against different study backgrounds and cultural diversity．In America，virtual property，whether deemed as chattel or private territory，belongs to special items protected by law，which indicates that when it comes to disputes concerning virtual property，American courts will solve them without explicitly－stated precondition according to relevant laws or broadening the application of current laws．

The above－mentioned problem can be solved from the following aspects:

First，the development of tools for the civil protection of virtual property in China should be accelerated．The protection of virtual property in China needs to learn from the successful experience abroad and meanwhile，take into consideration of the actual development state of China and analyze the advantages and disadvantages home and abroad．By means of comparing the protection of virtual property in China and America，it can be seen that the protection of rights and value of virtual property involves both judicial and civil laws．Therefore，the protection of virtual protection should be discussed from various aspects．According to actual survey and research，it is more appropriate to classify the right virtual property as right in rem．

The protection of creditor’s rights can also be applied in the protection of virtual property besides real right protection．As to virtual property only existent in the network environment，online game operators rely on the rules of network service to provide arranged service for game players．In this case，virtual property can be protected by both real rights protection law and creditor’s rights protection law．Network operators need to identify their civil rights，to be more specific，the basic rights of the online game players，which require the operators to constantly improve the game environment and make it more convenient for players to participate．

Second，the civil rights protection methods of virtual property should be im-proved in China．To start with，virtual property should be defined as private staff so as to include it into legally guaranteed scope．That is to say，virtual property is the legal private property of online game players．The ownership of virtual property should be equal to the rights property in the traditional sense according to relevant regulations of right in rem．What’s more，the rights and obligations of game players and online game operators should be defined in the legal system．Actual laws should be applied to the contracts of virtual property so that the benefits of virtual property owners can be guaranteed to the largest extent．

Third，the protection system of virtual property should be constructed with the emphasis on preventing computer crimes．According to previous analysis，virtual property needs to be protected by civil rights．However，it is far from enough to totally rely on civil rights protection system to protect the benefits of netizens．Computer crimes should be primarily restricted to protect virtual property．

During recent years，the technical characteristics of computer crimes have been recognized．In one word，after identifying the ownership of the value and rights of virtual property，the invasion of virtual property rights should be prevented by the rules and regulations of relevant criminal laws．In the long run，judicial laws in relevant fields should also take into consideration of the technical replicability of virtual property．

Ⅳ．Conclusion

The emergence and rapid development of network has not only provided various entertainments for people，but also laid solid foundation for the national economic development．However，relevant problems concerning virtual property in the network virtual environment deserve our attention．Considering the fact that there are no specific regulations about the value of virtual property and rights protection，we have defined the concept of virtual property by learning from the advanced experience of America and research results home and abroad．According to the particular national conditions and rules and regulations，virtual property has been classified as real property and a series of legal construction methods of providing better protection of virtual property in China have been proposed，in hope to contribute to the theoretical study of virtual property a nd judicial practice in China．

Notes:

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