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Legal context A market has grown around massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and a lucrative online market has emerged outside the games for the sale of game characters and items. Much discussion and debate have focused on the copyright issues and the role of End User Licence Agreements (EULAs), and strong criticisms have been levelled at those EULAs that give game providers IP ownership and rights over any dealings with the game characters and items. MMORPGs also raise legal issues in other IP law areas of trade marks, designs, and patents, and this article will deal with these. Key points Trade marks can be a powerful tool to protect the creativity of online characters and items but the first issue that needs to be considered is whether these creations in the online world can be trade marked. Similar considerations exist for patents and designs. Further, there are also issues with trade marks, patents, and designs properly registered in the real world being used in MMORPGs by those who are not the owners. The owners of these registered IP rights would obviously wish to protect their interests to the fullest. Practical significance There have been a number of issues and debates raised concerning the game characters and items between game developers, gamers and farming companies. This article examines the key trade mark, patent and design law issues at stake. |
