{"id":389,"date":"2011-03-01T12:00:52","date_gmt":"2011-03-01T17:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.law.cornell.edu\/voxpop\/2011\/03\/01\/on-a-legal-framework-in-a-virtual-world-lessons-from-the-virtuallife-project\/"},"modified":"2011-03-01T17:04:46","modified_gmt":"2011-03-01T22:04:46","slug":"on-a-legal-framework-in-a-virtual-world-lessons-from-the-virtuallife-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.law.cornell.edu\/voxpop\/2011\/03\/01\/on-a-legal-framework-in-a-virtual-world-lessons-from-the-virtuallife-project\/","title":{"rendered":"On a Legal Framework in a Virtual World: Lessons from the VirtualLife Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this article, I reflect on the legal frameworks that affect virtual worlds. In particular, I focus on the use of non-game three-dimensional online virtual worlds such as Second Life<\/a>,\u00a0for purposes of education and training<\/a>. These worlds are also known as “serious”<\/a> games. Pictured below is an example of such a “serious” game: a possible learning support scenario — interacting with a complex 3D geometric object, in the context of a geometry lesson within a virtual world.<\/p>\n

\"Interacting<\/p>\n

The European Union Information and Communication Technologies Seventh Framework Programme, FP7\u00a0ICT<\/a>, has funded a VirtualLife<\/a> consortium of ten partners that plans to create a secure and legally ruled virtual world platform. The legal framework they are constructing includes a novel, editable, and enforceable Virtual Constitution. This article describes the legal framework of VirtualLife, using material from several VirtualLife project deliverables: a presentation<\/a> and publications<\/a>, primarily Bogdanov et al. (2009)<\/a>, and \u010cyras & Lachmayer (2010)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The problem of law enforcement in virtual worlds<\/strong><\/p>\n

The rules of games, such as chess, can be programmed. However, this is not the case for legal rules contained in a code of conduct in a virtual constitution. Moreover, in a code of conduct for a virtual world, we supplement the normal concept of “persons” who are subject to law, with the concept of “avatars” — that is, the virtual persons used to navigate a virtual world. This variety of rules, which applies to avatars, is called “virtual law”\u00a0(see Raph Koster<\/a>). A sample “toy” rule, such as “Keep off the grass,” illustrates constraints on avatar conduct, constraints aimed primarily at preventing unwanted behaviour. <\/p>\n

Various methods of norm enforcement\u00a0by computers are being investigated worldwide (see, e.g.,\u00a0V\u00e1zquez-Salceda et al. (2008)<\/a>). Lawrence Lessig<\/a>‘s Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace<\/a><\/em> (1999, updated in 2005) noted that\u00a0cyberspace would be controlled — or not — depending upon the architecture, or “code,” of that space.<\/p>\n

A general frame of a virtual world<\/strong><\/p>\n

A general sketch of\u00a0virtual world\u00a0legal issues, as described by legal scholar Friedrich Lachmayer<\/a>, is outlined below. It differs from the view of software engineers. Many legal rules in a virtual world are described informally. The entities of major importance are avatar actions<\/em> and the rules that regulate their behaviour. Here is a conceptualisation of the “theatre” depicting the elements of a\u00a0virtual world\u00a0and the principles of construction of its legal framework:<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Rules can form different normative systems within a virtual world, as well as a regime, or paradigm, of a virtual world.\u00a0The rules\u00a0in a virtual world can\u00a0have different modes or degrees of effectiveness, such as “barrier,” “occasional,” “step-by-step,” etc. Moreover, these rules can be divided into different classes, such as technical rules, legal rules, reputation rules, energy rules, and professional rules:<\/p>\n