Law and Order in Virtual Worlds: Exploring Avatars, Their Ownership and Rights (Premier Reference Source)

As virtual worlds increase in their depth and number, evolving into virtual communities with separate rules and expectations, they are often brought into conflict with the legal rules of the physical world.

Law and Order in Virtual Worlds: Exploring Avatars, Their Ownership and Rights provides an understanding of the interface between the laws of the real world and the laws of the virtual worlds. Written for anyone who has ventured into a virtual reality and wondered what, if any, real world consequences would follow their actions, this book raises and answers compelling legal questions about such issues as owning virtual assets, intellectual property right infringements and virtual liabilities in the real world.