Commentary: Virtual Property?

It seems that the virtual gaming industry is presenting some tough legal questions. An article in the National Law Journal examines such a situation. A suit filed in a Pennsylvania district court alleges that a gaming company based in California is guilty of conversion, fraud, unjust enrichment and breach of contract for taking virtual land in a computer game that was "owned" by the plaintiff gamer. The article can be read here. The game has player's buy, lease and auction land and uses its own currency, purchased by U.S. dollars. The case, according to the article, is one of the first involving virtual property. Perhaps Bragg v. Linden Research Inc. will replace Pierson v. Post as the most memorable property case.