Study On The Legal Issues Of The "punitive" Clause Of The Online Game Service Agreement

As a new type of entertainment in the development of Internet,software program,information data and other technologies,online games provide new opportunities for the development of China's Internet economy,but also have corresponding problems.The phenomenon that game operators punish illegal players is common in the online game industry." Punitive " clause as the basis to curb the illegal behavior in the online game,has the function of maintaining the game order and punishing the illegal behavior.Its legal connotation is different from the traditional contract in the past.Although the online game service agreement is not completely unified in practice,its essence is the format contract drawn up by the game operator unilaterally,so the "punitive" clause has the basic attributes of the format clause,but also has the characteristics of diversification,concealment,particularity of law application.Therefore,there are corresponding legal problems in the operation practice of online games.In view of the legal issues related to the "punitive" clause of the online game service agreement,the first is the validity of the "punitive" clause,which is mainly that the entry into force of the "punitive" clause should conform to the corresponding formal and substantive elements,and at the same time,the "punitive" clause should be limited in the process of game operation.The second is the interpretation of "punitive" clause,mainly because we should pay attention to the special interpretation of "punitive" clause,and the interpretation of "punitive" clause should follow the corresponding principles,but also follow a certain interpretation method.Again,the application of the "punitive" clause,mainly for the application of the "punitive" clause should be effective review.Game operators can agree that they have the right to decide the application of the "punitive" clause situation.In the application of the "punitive" clause game operators should bear the corresponding burden of proof,while the application of the "right to punish" clause should have a reasonable limit.Through the study of the current legal norms,different online game serviceagreement texts and adjudicative documents,the online game service agreement "punitive" provisions related to the solution of legal problems,can start from the following aspects: in terms of the effectiveness of the provisions,we can promote the specialized legislation in the field of online games,and construct the "punitive" clause audit and filing system.In terms of interpretation,we can perfect the rules of "punitive" clause interpretation,strengthen the self-discipline of online game industry,and give play to the supervisory role of game consumption association.In terms of the application of the articles,we should make clear the subject of supervision in the field of online games,strengthen the supervision of "punitive" clauses,and optimize the judicial regulation of online game disputes.Game operators should not only play a positive role in the "punitive" clause,but also resolve online game service disputes,properly deal with the network game management and operation of players in violation of the law and other related issues.