Virtual World Law Blog

Virtual Justice

Rutgers University law professor Greg Lastowka looks at whether players can and should be granted legal ownership of virtual items, whether or not there's any existing legal precedent and how the virtual item landscape may change in the near future.

Italian court: Online editors not responsible for reader comments

Online commentators Wednesday welcomed a ruling by Italy's highest court that the editors of online publications cannot be held legally responsible for defamatory comments posted by their readers. In a ruling handed down at the end of October, the Court of Cassation acquitted a former online editor of L'Espresso news magazine of the crime of failing to prevent defamation committed by one of her readers.

OUII Seeks Clarity On 'Process Of Establishment' Claims

The U.S. International Trade Commission should review a recent finding in a video game patent infringement case and clarify how to determine if a domestic industry is in the process of being established in Section 337 cases, the ITC's Office of Unfair Import Investigations said in a petition publicized Tuesday.

Germany's Merck wants Facebook page back

Germany's Merck KGaA has threatened legal action after it said it lost its Facebook page apparently to rival Merck & Co. in the U.S., though it has yet to identify defendants in the case.

Virtual World Startups Seek Refuge From Patent Attacks

The developers behind the next evolution of the Internet -- linked, immersive, 3D environments -- are trying to think of ways to minimize the adverse impact of software patents on their industry.

Social media in for worse cyber attacks in 2012

Social media sites and cellphones will prove to be fertile grounds for cyber criminals to exploit globally important events in 2012 to steal personal information and data and make financial gains, cyber security firm Websense has said. The Websense document, " 2012 Cyber Security Threats," has said identity information posted by users of sites such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn may prove more valuable to cybercriminals than even credit cards.

Scientists Find Safer Ways To Test Medical Procedures

Scientists are developing ever more sophisticated versions of "virtual patients" with the aim of testing medical devices and procedures that can't readily be assessed in real people.

FarmVille Creator Zynga Kicks Off $1B IPO

Zynga Inc., creator of the FarmVille and CityVille phenomena as well as other games that piggyback on Facebook Inc.'s tidal wave of popularity, became a publicly traded company Friday when it made a $1 billion initial public offering of its stock.

What's the right social cocktail for you?

From supply chain management to PR crisis management, the role of public social data in the enterprise is no longer framed around the question of "why does this data matter?"  That said, we are still in the very early stages of corporate adoption and there are plenty of unanswered questions for most companies.   Once enterprises get past asking why this data is important, the next obvious question to address is: which public social data is best for performing business analysis and decision-making?  Facebook?  Twitter?  Google+?, WordPress?

U.S. Senator Mad that Your Tax Dollars Saved Video Games

Video game preservation, educational robot dragons and Department of Homeland Security Sno Cones are just some of the "outlandish" federally funded projects called out in U.S. Senator Tom Coburn's annual big book of wasteful government spending this week.

New Research Shows 72% of Consumers Welcome The Opportunity To Watch Sponsored Videos In Online Games

A new study conducted by SponsorPay, the leading international cross-platform social advertising solution, found that consumers welcome the opportunity to watch sponsored videos in online games and not only recall these brands but also harbor positive sentiment towards them.

New Report Details Demographics of Mobile Gamers Buying Virtual Goods

As gamers age, so does their propensity to buy mobile virtual goods, according to a new study by MocoSpace, the largest mobile gaming community in North America. The results of the new study focusing on virtual goods consumption and engagement by age found younger gamers (25-35) spend the most time playing social games, but gamers over 45 buy exponentially more virtual goods than their younger counterparts.