Study Of The Property Invasion Crime In The Network

With the spreading of network and Internet usage, property invasion in electroniccommerce and Internet industry occttr more and more often everyday. Being virtual, theproperties of electronic commerce and Internet games have different characteristics thanthe traditional properties. Invasion against an Intemet bank account is not simplyinvasion of personal property. How to protect the development of electronic commerceand the rights of the virtual properties in Internet are emerging issues faced by criminallaws. From theoretical ground, the new issues challenging criminal laws mainly involvethe following: from the aspect of criminal subject, whether or not the electronic fund andother virtual property (such as money and equipment in internet games), the new types ofnon-material properties, can become the subject of property violation criminal act; fromthe aspect of criminal behavior, whether or not cheating the computers can be regarded ascheating the owners, in other words, if the issues of cheating exist for lifeless objects suchcomputers; and, whether or not disruption of electronic cornmeree, which does not involveany physical damage, can be regarded as damage. In the practice of law, emerging issuesexist such as how to grade the severity of the violation in a case, how to define the value ofthe virtual property, etc. This thesis looks into property violation that occurs in theelectronic commerce and internet gaming industry, analyzes the practical and theoreticalissues, describes the forms of these behaviors and current legal framework, investigates thecharacteristics of the electronic fund and virtual property, and illustrates that as anemerging object with value and application, the characteristics of virtual property belong toa novel kind of property and should be protected by the law. Invasion of virtualproperties possesses unique characteristics from the traditional property violationbehaviors. Based on thorough analysis of the risk and damage caused by these behaviors,we should provide targeted enforcement both in prevention and punishment. This willprevent the loophole where such new kinds of properties are unprotected by the criminal law. This thesis has incorporated theoretical analysis and derivation, together with realexamples in legal practice. It also referenced and compared different international legalsystems. In conclusion, this thesis proposed suggestions for law enforcement that aretargeted to China's current situations, in order for the law to adequately protect privateproperty and the law and order of the Internet in their entirety.