Abstract
This article questions the preconceived notions that participants in virtual worlds are essentially consumers. Building on the existing scholarship around virtual worlds and notwithstanding the current character of virtual worlds, this paper explores aspects of End User Licence Agreements and notes the unfairness of their provisions, particularly the imbalance between user and developer interests governed by such contracts. It argues that the contracts cannot be regulated with consumer protection legislation, as interests such as property or intellectual property are beyond the scope of consumer protection regimes. Finally, recognising the phenomenon of constitutionalisation of virtual worlds, the article argues for stronger regulatory solutions in this domain, in order to strike a more appropriate balance between competing interests in virtual worlds.
Highlights
The concept of virtual worlds (VWs) predates the emergence of the internet
This paper focuses on two case studies: World of Warcraft and Second Life
The owner of Steam, created a very restrictive EULA (Steam, 2014) for the content and games/VWs acquired via Steam, resembling very much those of the other VWs
Summary
The concept of virtual worlds (VWs) predates the emergence of the internet. Many authors report that the development of VWs has started with the text-based, offline role playing games, created on the basis of the different works of fiction, such as Tolkien’s books and ideas of world building (Lastowka & Hunter, 2006, pp. 17-18; Erlank, 2012, pp. 22-23). The World of Warcraft’s developer, expressly excludes any property rights of users in assets created or traded in the game, as well as forbidding transfers of accounts
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