Research On Several Issues Concerning Infringement Upon The Internet Virtual Property

The emergence and rapid development of the network gives birth to the virtual property, especially the rise of online games makes the virtual property develop faster and faster. Because of the real interests of the virtual property, the corresponding new crimes emerge thereafter and the lack of relevant regulations intensifies such crimes, to the extent of which have to be resolved by justice unavoidably. However, the theory and practice in China for research and treatment of infringement upon the virtual property have too many gaps. As a new occurrence, the virtual property is greatly different from the real property in the shape and form of expression, resulting in the constant controversy on its legal nature. This paper, from the perspective of theory and practice, describes the protection by the criminal law for the virtual property and the protection methods and proposes some opinions and insights on the issues related to the infringement upon the virtual property.