Metagaming - Engage! Digital Law Conference

Digital Law Conference: September 24 at 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. J. Michael Monahan, II, Attorney, Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson Michael H. Pinkerton, COO, Metaverse Mod Squad Neal Black, General Counsel, Live Gamer Shane McGee, Partner, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP

Why is metagaming an important issue when discussing MMORPGs? Most MMORPG designers work within a carefully designed virtual universe, precisely balanced to give every player an equal opportunity to play and enjoy the game. Metagaming can upset that balance -- or enhance the experience -- depending on foresight of the designers and the type of metagaming at issue.

Communicating outside of a game
Phone calls? Instant messages? IP communication?
Giving away the location of another player
Disclosing the strength of enemy fortifications
Communicating across factions (e.g., WoW Horde vs. Alliance)
Exploits
Terrain glitching
Gold/item duping
Cheats and bots (example: WoWGlider)
Can “see” through terrain and other obstructions
Reflexes of a computer
Not subject to external “weaknesses” like other players (e.g., the need for food and sleep; school; work)
Gold farming

On June 26, 2009, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Culture released a joint circular prohibiting the use of virtual currency to trade in real goods and services
Go to: http://english.mofcom.gov.cn

Virtual Items
Scarcity (limited quantities or time or money)
Collectability
Ability to Display
User Demand
for
Real-Money
Trading
Annual market for the secondary exchange of virtual items has been estimated at over $1.8 billion worldwide
Itembay and ItemMania sold $974 million in virtual goods in 2006
Source: www.virtualgoods.com, Virtual goods in Asia: it’s even more than you think!, April 9, 2009

Hernandez v. Internet Gambling Entertainment, Ltd.,US Dist Ct WD FL, 2007 Playfish, Ltd. v. Gosumall Digital Entertainment, US Dist Ct WD TX, 2009

Regulatory Landscape in the U.S.
Financial services laws
Illegal lotteries
Auction licensing
Income taxes (third-party information reporting)
Sales tax laws
Data security standards
Privacy practices
Export control laws
Unclaimed property laws
Other Legal Concerns:
Ownership of intellectual property
Terms of Service / EULAs

Permit publisher-sanctioned transfer of licensed rights among users
Be clear about ownership of virtual items / user-generated content
Protect against “loss of value” claims:
Allow for bannings, disruptions and discontinuance
Allow for active management of in-game economy, game play and trading
Disclaim any obligation to create a market in particular virtual items
Obtain waiver of liability for any loss of value in virtual items
Address RMT activities by parents and legal guardians of minors
Provide for fair and equitable Alternative Dispute Resolution (consider Bragg v. Linden Research, Inc ., US Dist Ct ED PA, 2006)
Prohibit disruptive / illegal conduct (e.g., gambling, money laundering, gold farming, etc.)

Section 230 of the CDA
Immunity if operator did not create or develop the offending content
Immunity Cases
Defamation ( Amazon )
Invasion of privacy ( Matchmaker )
Sexual assault ( MySpace )
No Immunity Case
Drop-down menu exception ( Roommates )

Who’s covered?
Sites directed to children under 13
Any site that collects personal info from children
What’s required?
Posted privacy policy
Verifiable parental consent before collecting personal info from kids
Maine’s Super-COPPA
Prohibits “predatory marketing” to minors

Digital harassment
Anonymous
Unsupervised
Inseparable
Harmful effects
Self-esteem to suicide
Legislation
Megan Meier Cyberbulling Prevention Act (Pending)
Empowering school administrators

Digital Law Conference: September 24 at 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. J. Michael Monahan, II, Attorney, Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson Michael H. Pinkerton, COO, Metaverse Mod Squad Neal Black, General Counsel, Live Gamer Shane McGee, Partner, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP

Metagaming - Engage! Digital Law Conference

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Metagaming - Engage! Digital Law Conference — Presentation Transcript

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