Jankowich (2006)
Contents
Source Details
Jankowich (2006) | |
Title: | EULAw: The Complex Web of Corporate Rule-Making in Virtual Worlds |
Author(s): | Jankowich, A. |
Year: | 2006 |
Citation: | Jankowich, A. (2006) EULAw: The Complex Web of Corporate Rule-Making in Virtual Worlds. Tulane Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property, 8 |
Link(s): | Definitive , Open Access |
Key Related Studies: | |
Discipline: | |
Linked by: |
About the Data | |
Data Description: | Data were obtained from the terms and agreements governing 48 ‘virtual worlds’, being massive-multiplayer-online-games (MMOGs). |
Data Type: | Primary data |
Secondary Data Sources: | |
Data Collection Methods: | |
Data Analysis Methods: | |
Industry(ies): | |
Country(ies): | |
Cross Country Study?: | Yes |
Comparative Study?: | No |
Literature review?: | No |
Government or policy study?: | No |
Time Period(s) of Collection: | |
Funder(s): |
Abstract
“In this Article, I will examine the private systems of regulation governing virtual worlds that are typically contained in EULAs, terms of service (ToS), rules of conduct, posting policies, and naming policies (collectively, “governing agreements”). My analysis is based on a survey of the governing agreements of forty-eight virtual worlds.”
Main Results of the Study
• Whilst the study finds that the majority of EULAs are easily accessible (70.83%), a high median number of agreements per title (3.6 per title) results in complexity of regulation.
• Most EULAs claim copyright only over aspects not created by participants in the virtual world. However, 33.33% of EULAs claim copyright over everything, including user contributions. Similarly, whilst 56.25% of agreements include an automatic licence from the user to the platform, 14.58% of agreements oblige a complete assignment of all user-generated content.
• Sale and transfer of the virtual world, and its contents, are usually restricted. 66.67% of EULAs prevent sale or transfer, and 56.25% prohibit the sale of virtual property outside of the world.
• As 37.50% of the titles surveyed have the same owners as at least one other game surveyed, this same structure of governance is likely throughout multiple worlds.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
The study does not make any explicit policy recommendations.
Coverage of Study
Datasets
Sample size: | 48 |
Level of aggregation: | EULA |
Period of material under study: |