ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Business of IT / IT Strategy

Game industry prepares for copyright battle

By David Becker, CNet, 11 February, 2002 07:31

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

Copyright, Sony, Online, Game, everquest, barter, camelot, roleplaying

NEWS
A specialty barter site has sued the creator of a popular online game over the right to swap virtual items from the game, setting the grounds for a decision that could have far-reaching copyright implications for the game industry. The founders of BlackSnow Interactive, which runs the CamelotExchange Web site, filed the suit on Tuesday in the US Court for the Central District of California against Mythic Entertainment, developer of the game " Dark Age of Camelot" (DAOC). DAOC is an online role-playing game (RPG) in which players spend many hours developing their characters and acquiring virtual items such as weapons and armor. Like most RPGs, players can swap items within the game using the game's virtual currency. But many players prefer to get real money, selling items and characters on auction sites such as eBay or specialty barter sites, including CamelotExchange. A search of eBay showed more than 150 DAOC items available Thursday, including online accounts with several highly developed characters selling for $300 or more. The suit alleges that Mythic representatives spurred eBay to shut down several auctions of DAOC accounts being conducted by CamelotExchange's founders, saying the auctions infringed on Mythic's copyrights. The plaintiffs charge those actions constitute an unfair business practice and interfere with "prospective economic advantage" to the plaintiffs. BlackSnow sells game currency and characters at a fixed price on its CamelotExchange site and also sells in-game items through eBay. Along with unspecified punitive and compensatory damages, the suit seeks a court order declaring that the sale of items and accounts outside the game does not infringe on Mythic's copyrights. A representative of Mythic and DAOC publisher Vivendi Interactive did not respond to requests for comment. Lawyer Steven Krongold of Arter & Hadden filed the suit on behalf of BlackSnow. He said the action is the first of its kind and could have far-reaching implications in the game industry, where some companies permit out-of-game sales of characters but others block them on grounds of copyright infringement. "It's basically seeking a judicial declaration as far as the rights of online gamers to trade outside the game," Krongold said. Copyright laws don't apply, the lawyer said, because no actual goods change hands. And any licence terms restricting such behavior would violate basic rights to free speech. Players who trade outside a game "are not doing anything that would contradict copyright protections," Krongold said. "And I don't think you can use a licence agreement to restrict activity that's permissible under copyright law." Sony has been one of the most aggressive game companies in restricting outside sales, insisting that all material related to its game "EverQuest" belongs to the company. It has shut down numerous EverQuest-related auctions on eBay and Yahoo. EverQuest items and characters continue to be sold on smaller auction sites, however. Edward Castronova, associate professor of economics at California State University at Fullerton, recently completed a study of the EverQuest economy. Based on a review of thousands of completed auctions for EverQuest items and in-game currency, he concluded that players collectively produce annual gross "exports" of more than $5m. If the game's fictional universe of Norrath were a country, its per-capita gross national product would be $2,266 -- making it the 77th richest country on Earth and ranking it between Russia and Bulgaria. Castronova said the trading outside the game is inevitable because prices set in the in-game barter system don't match players' expectations, resulting in high "transaction costs" that spur players to look elsewhere. The upshot is a Cuban-style system where a moribund official economy is overshadowed by a vigorous underground economy based on US dollars. "It's absolutely supply and demand at work," Castronova said. "I don't think they (Sony representatives) realise they're confronting the same problems that have confronted real-world policy makers for years. When the government becomes so powerful it can control an entire economic system, how do you do that fairly?"
For a round-up of the latest tech business coverage, see the Business News Section. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Related stories

Sony continues the fight for regional coding

Heart of England NHS begins massive digitisation plan

Hard-drive woes hit PC shipments in fourth quarter

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

tinycg

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

1 hour ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move
TerryRK

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

6 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

16 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

24 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

1 day ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

1 day ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

1 day ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

1 day ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

2 days ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 days ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

Latest in IT Strategy

Heart of England NHS begins massive digitisation plan

Hard-drive woes hit PC shipments in fourth quarter

Featured white papers

Value of a team: Five pillars to strengthen employee culture

Citrix Online

Value of a team: Five pillars to strengthen employee culture

This white paper explores how to define objectives for employees and clients and how the business can benefit from encouraging... Read more

Key trends driving global business resilience and risk

IBM

Key trends driving global business resilience and risk

This IBM research paper looks at how businesses are thinking more about business resilience by improving the ability to adapt to a continuously changing business... Read more

Cloud computing security: A practical guide

SunGard Availability Services

Cloud computing security: A practical guide

Cloud computing has been the belle of the IT ball, but can you trust it to keep data reliable and... Read more

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Make faster, smarter decisions using BI

Make faster, smarter decisions using BI

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault