Gamers Rights Law

Have you ever had your avatar stolen? I mean, was it your avatar, or was it just a photo you picked up from the internet? If it was, did you Photoshop it or make it somehow your own? What about your handle? Is it uniquely yours? Do you have it across several user-groups, or several games? Has someone ever taken that and you feel your reputation was hurt? What and how is an online identity forged, and why would you want to protect it? And how? Is it copyright; trademark; plagiarism; or all of the above? Why haven’t the cases given us guidance yet? A few links and a few thoughts follow:

Avatar, Identity, and Signature as moral guide; New Book by an author explains Theological Implications of our Avatars

Judging real people by their avatars; should we be ashamed, or is it just natural? (Another compelling article by the always thoughtful Pixels and Policy Website).

Avatars and online identity A piece by a VC (venture capitalist?) discussing the process of deciding upon an avatar. It talks more about perception than actual identity, but makes a lot of very good points.

Avatars and anonymity Article from IDtrail website that lists the anonymity that avatars give you as a good thing. Describes whether anonymity is a good end goal of itself – I’ve often been accused of being a paranoid person about anonymity – but this writing shows I’m not the only one. And most notably it does intertwine the idea of identity and avatar as one and the same.

Issues of Identity in Online Worlds Phenomenally powerful piece about identity in the online world. This is the link to the HTML version of the powerpoint. You should reference this and go back to it often if you’ve an interest in the topic. Author is listed as Ulrike Schultze, from Mardi Gras Conference 2009 at Lousiana State University.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
And now below the fold, for the hardcore that have made it this far, some reference material, “egghead” material if you will, for those wanting to guess what the courts will decide upon that first “huge” identity/avatar case.

Avatars and Personification A great database of anecdotal and also authoritative information on avatar the idea. A great read and an incredible starting point if you want to get into the meat of the psychology of this subject.

Identity as a multi-layered self in Web 2.0 environmentsA deep discussion of the meaning of an avatar in the whole Web 2.0 context. I don’t understand it totally, but author seems like the kind of person that would make a great expert witness in the first big “Avatar theft” lawsuit that comes down the pike

And lastly, a couple of older (but still magnificent) entries on SSRN – very deep, and willing to make guesses about future legal decisions.

Playing in the Virtual Arena: Avatars, Publicity and Identity Reconceptualized through Virtual Worlds and Computer Games, Jon M. Garon, available here.

Trademark Law and the Social Construction of Trust: Creating the Legal Framework for Online Identity, Beth Simone Noveck, available here.

Jay Moffitt is a Tennessee attorney. This blog is for entertainment and educational purposes only and does not consitute legal advice or create an attorney/client relationship. Jay Moffitt is not certified as a specialist in this area by Tennessee and Tennessee does not certify specialists in this practice area. All comments will be answered promptly and courteously as long as they are germane to the discussion and do not contain specific game names or incidents.

Tags: avatar, identity, reputation