Thursday, November 13, 2003
You Defamed My Imaginary Friend!
Only in America. This weekend there is a conference to determine how defamation and property law applies to imaginary constructs in online multi-player games. If a troll defames your character in Everquest, can you sue in the real world? If someone destroys your carefully built castle, is it considered real property?
On the face of it, it seems a crazy concept. But as society moves more and more to a digital arena, and businesses and transactions move in this direction, it can become a key issue. In many cyberpunk novels, an online reality will complement, and in some cases, replace, the real world. And when that happens, these types of panels can have laid the groundwork how people can be held legally responsible for their online actions.
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