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2006 Mich. St. L. Rev. 779 (2006)
Owned: Finding a Place for Virtual World Property Rights

handle is hein.journals/mslr2006 and id is 787 raw text is: OWNED: FINDING A PLACE FOR VIRTUAL WORLD PROPERTY RIGHTS Theodore J. Westbrook* 2006 MICH. ST. L. REV. 779 TABLE OF CONTENTS IN TROD UCTION ........................................................................................... 779 I. THE CONCEPT OF VIRTUAL PROPERTY .................................................. 781 A . W hat Is Virtual Property? ............................................................ 782 B. Virtual Property Within Virtual Worlds ....................................... 784 C. Developers' Perspective on Virtual Property ............................... 787 D . Real W orld Effects ....................................................................... 789 II. LEGAL THEORY: ARE VIRTUAL OBJECTS PROPERTY AT ALL.? .......... 791 A. Applying Lockean Theory to Virtual Property ............................ 791 B . The U tilitarian A ccount ................................................................ 795 C . Personality Theory ....................................................................... 797 D. Revisiting the Central Question .................................................. 801 1. Should Property Rights Apply to Virtual Property? ............... 801 2. The EULA and Its Effect on the Legal Status of Virtual P rop erty ................................................................................ 803 III. SO LUTION S ........................................................................................... 804 A. Conflicts Between User and Developer: The A-Z Type ........... 805 B. Conflicts Between Users: The A-B Type ................................. 808 C. An Alternative Solution--Outlawing RMT in Virtual Goods ..... 810 C ON CLU SION .............................................................................................. 811 INTRODUCTION New technology spurs social change at an incredible rate. One such instance of new technology is beginning to blur not only the line between fantasy and reality but also the lines between work, play, data, and prop- erty.' This is the elaborate virtual world of today's massively multiplayer * Juris Doctor Candidate 2007, Michigan State University College of Law. The author would like to extend heartfelt thanks to Professors David Favre and Adam Mossoff for their suggestions and comments on various drafts. 1. See EDWARD CASTRONOVA, SYNTHETIC WORLDS 1-2 (2005); F. Gregory Las- towka & Dan Hunter, The Laws of the Virtual Worlds, 92 CAL. L. REv. 1,4-5 (2004).

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