Do you own your MMORPG character?

Is the time you spend playing MMORPGs your own? Do you have the right do dispose of the fruits of your MMORPG labours as you see fit? These are the questions that BlackSnow Interactive (BSI) will be asking a Judge to consider after filing suit

Is the time you spend playing MMORPGs your own? Do you have the right do dispose of the fruits of your MMORPG labours as you see fit? These are the questions that BlackSnow Interactive (BSI) will be asking a Judge to consider after filing suit against Dark Age of Camelot's Mythic Entertainment over 'anti-trust, copyright, and anti-competitive issues'

BlackSnow Interactive is a collective of MMORPG players who formed in order to cash in on the virtual economies present in most MMORPG games. The group buy and sell 'gaming currency, items and characters' to other MMORPG for real money. So far they have been successful, growing from a single member to seven full-time staff. However, Mythic Entertainment took a dislike to the practice and has informed BSI it is to cease sales immediately.

BSI's Director of Sales, Lee Caldwell, had this to say; 'Mythic's attempt to stifle competition in their own game makes it possible for only full-time gamers to succeed in the game and most MMORPG players can't compete on that level'

The suit brings up several interesting questions. It seems natural that a person holds the right to dispose of the items, currency and characters they have built up or acquired in an MMORPG as they see fit. However, it's also logical that since these items, currency and characters are objects created by a 3rd party – who incidentally retain copyright – players can only use them within the guidelines set down by said 3rd party. To further confuse the situation, you can compare it to the sale of second hand books. It's perfectly legal for a person to buy a book from Amazon and then resell that book to someone else, whether it be for profit or loss. The copyright of the book is at no time transferred away from the original author, only the right or capability to use it.

Aside from the purely legal aspects of this issue, players themselves must consider if they want to pay a monthly fee to play a game that can be beaten not through skill and dedication, but through the ability to buy what someone is either too lazy or too unskilled to acquire.

Private sales of MMORPG kit have been conducted through eBay and other auction sites for some time. However, BSI bases its entire business model on this technique – and that's what has Mythic upset. Mythic gain no compensation for the on-sale of its property, while BSI make a profit. Of course, you can use the second hand book comparison here as well – book authors make no money from second hand bookstores, so why should Mythic expect anything different?

As this case has the potential to set precedent – at least in the US – you can be sure many companies who currently have, or are planning to have, MMORPGs will be watching closely.