Research On The Protection Of Network Virtual Property In The Civil Law Perspective

Since the judgment of "Li Hongchen v. Arctic ice "case entered into force, in theacademic community, the disputes on network virtual property never stop.Andalso,there is not statutory basis for the trial of similar cases in the judicial practice. Ihave been thinking a lot. For the particularity of the network virtual property, weshould recognize its value of property. At the same time, we should seek for the mostcomplete method of protection. As a starting point, this paper leads to controversialissues by the first case of "virtual property" in China and is in-depth study about theprotection of virtual property in the civil law perspective.In this paper, the writer states the protection of virtual property through thefollowing three parts:The first part introduces "Li Hongchen v. Arctic ice "case and the controversialissues. And then,it gives an account of the meaning, type and the dispute form ofnetwork virtual property and the way to get it.The second part discusses the controversial issues caused by "Li Hongchen v.Arctic ice "case. Through comparing the similarities and differences between thenetwork virtual property and general property, we get the conclusion that virtualproperty belongs to the category of property. According to the analysis of the nature ofproperty, we agree to the academic community who advocates that network virtualproperty is one kind of particular property. About the legal nature of virtual property,there are mainly four academic and popular views. Then critical analysis help us getthe conclusion that network virtual property is a new property right which has a formof both real right and creditor’s right.The third part is the most important part of the paper. And it is just the part thatcontains the solution to the problem. First, in order to slove the controversial issues,we establish the specific system of civil law protection, they are: agent systemof network transactions, certification system of transaction’s qualification and valueassessment system. According to the status quo of protection,the writer puts forwardto the improvement of the method of protection about network virtual property. Theyare application of claim for real right and creditor’s right. Game players can excludeothers against their own network virtual property rights by the claim for realright.They can also make up the loss by the claim for damages. Specificly, thecreditor’s right includes the debt of contractual obligations and infringement. Gameplayers can choose one kind of them to claim their right to the game operators.