<eventdefs>
<!-- fall 2007 -->
+
+ <eventitem date="2007-09-25" time="1:30 PM" room="DC 1302" title="Virtual Reality, Real Law: The regulation of Property in Vidoe Games">
+ <short>Susan Abramovitch</short>
+ <abstract>
+ <p>
+ This talk is run by the School of Computer Science
+ </p>
+ <p>
+ How should virtual property created in games, such as weapons used in
+games like Mir 3 and real estate or clothing created or acquired in
+games like Second Life, be treated in law. Although the videogaming
+industry continues to multiply in value, virtual property created in
+virtual worlds has not been formally recognized by any North American
+court or legislature. A bridge has been taking shape from gaming's
+virtual economies to real world economies, for example, through
+unauthorized copying of designer clothes sold on Second Life for in-game
+cash, or real court damages awarded against deletion of player-earned
+swords in Mir 3. The trading of virtual property is important to a
+large number of people and property rights in virtual property are
+currently being recognized by some foreign legal bodies.
+</p>
+<p>
+Susan Abramovitch will explain the legal considerations in determining
+how virtual property can or should be governed, and ways it can be
+legally similar to tangible property. Virtual property can carry both
+physical and intellectual property rights. Typically video game
+developers retain these rights via online agreements, but Ms.
+Abramovitch questions whether these rights are ultimately enforceable
+and will describe policy issues that may impact law makers in deciding
+how to treat virtual property under such agreements.
+</p>
+ </abstract>
+ </eventitem>
+
<eventitem date="2007-10-2" time="4:30 PM" room="TBA" title="Putting the fun into Functional Languages and Useful Programming with OCaml/F#">
<short>Brennan Taylor</short>
<abstract>
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