Chinese Gamer Sues Developer for Taking His Loot… and Wins
December 28th, 2007 by Kenan Farrell
Shanda, developer of MMORPG The World of Legend, has been ordered to pay 5,000 Yuan (US $679) and apologize to a gamer for taking away his virtual tools, reports Pacific Epoch. The gamer discovered six virtual items worth more than 1,500 Yuan (US $204) missing from his game account on November 22, 2006 (perhaps the Sword of 1,000 Truths), and contacted Shanda regarding the disappearance. Shanda said that the company had taken the items in accordance with a police investigation regarding the sale of stolen virtual items. But Shanda failed to follow police instruction and return the items after the investigation ended.
Apparently the gamer is not satisfied with the apology — after nearly a year away from the game, the gamer now plans to take Shanda back to court. He plans to sue for the 150,000 Yuan (US $20,367) he claims to have spent in-game over five years.
Haven’t found the World of Legend EULA yet but would be interested to see what it says about ownership of virtual property. This case highlights the potential conflict a Chinese MMORPG developer may face when caught between protecting the user and cooperating with police investigation.
Happy holidays. Remember, when it comes to loot, need before greed.
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I can’t help but think: “China?”
Meanwhile, there’s a bunch of people telling some guy who photographed his dog in a Santa outfit to sue Fox for using it without permission, claiming Fox stole “his property” and he “sue their ass off” (as if they’d be egging on Fox to sue if the situation were reversed).
This is all too good. What a mess.
‘need before greed’ Heh, I’m sure we all ‘need’ something more than everyone else.
So this person was being investigated for stolen goods, but it doesn’t have any other info about him Was he a case of mistaken identity, or did he purchase the stolen goods from someone.
[...] Chinese Gamer Sues Developer for Taking His Loot… and Wins | Virtually Blind | Virtual Law ordered to pay 5,000 Yuan (US $679) and apologize to a gamer for taking away his virtual tools (tags: law virtualworld games) [...]
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