Overview

"Tens of millions of people today are living part of their life in a virtual world. In places like World of Warcraft, Second Life, and Free Realms, people are making friends, building communities, creating art, and making real money. Business is booming on the virtual frontier, as billions of dollars are paid in exchange for pixels on screens. But sometimes things go wrong. Virtual criminals defraud online communities in pursuit of real-world profits. People feel cheated when their avatars lose virtual property to wrongdoers. Increasingly, they turn to legal systems for solutions. But when your avatar has been robbed, what law is there to assist you? In ""Virtual Justice"", Greg Lastowka illustrates the real legal dilemmas posed by virtual worlds. Presenting the most recent lawsuits and controversies, he explains how governments are responding to the chaos on the cyberspace frontier. After an engaging overview of the history and business models of today's virtual worlds, he explores how laws of property, jurisdiction, crime, and copyright are being adapted to pave the path of virtual law. Virtual worlds are becoming more important to society with each passing year. This pioneering study will be an invaluable guide to scholars of online communities for years to come."

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9780300141207

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Reviews

For anyone interested in virtual worlds or massively multiplayer online games, this book will be fascinating on so many levels. Appealing, beautifully-written and chock-full of insight, Virtual Justice sets out the laws for brand new territories, creating the maps that we need to navigate these remarkable places. Of value to everyone--lawyers, laypeople, regulators, thinkers--Lastowka gives us the definitive account of the laws of the virtual worlds. --Dan Hunter, Professor of Law & Director, Institute for Information Law & Policy, New York Law School and Co-founder of Terra Nova blog: terranova.blogs.com--Dan Hunter

Rare is the book that so artfully animates, engages, and provokes the creative and legal imagination as does Virtual Justice: The New Laws of Online Worlds . --Heidi Boghosian, The Federal Lawyer --Heidi Boghosian The Federal Lawyer

Greg Lastowka shows how blurry the line can be between private and public, between a customer base and a polity. He makes a compelling and impassioned case for why what happens in online worlds matters to us all--and how what is unfolding there now is determining how free we will be. --Jonathan Zittrain, author of The Future of the Internet--And How to Stop It --Jonathan Zittrain

Author Information

Greg Lastowka is a Professor of Law at Rutgers University. He teaches and researches the laws of intellectual property and new technology.

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