| Abstract: | Legal context: A market has grown around massively multiplayer online role-playinggames (MMORPGs) and a lucrative online market has emerged outsidethe games for the sale of game characters and items. Much discussionand debate have focused on the copyright issues and the roleof End User Licence Agreements (EULAs), and strong criticismshave been levelled at those EULAs that give game providers IPownership and rights over any dealings with the game charactersand items. MMORPGs also raise legal issues in other IP law areasof trade marks, designs, and patents, and this article willdeal with these. Key points: Trade marks can be a powerful tool to protect the creativityof online characters and items but the first issue that needsto be considered is whether these creations in the online worldcan be trade marked. Similar considerations exist for patentsand designs. Further, there are also issues with trade marks,patents, and designs properly registered in the real world beingused in MMORPGs by those who are not the owners. The ownersof these registered IP rights would obviously wish to protecttheir interests to the fullest. Practical significance: There have been a number of issues and debates raised concerningthe game characters and items between game developers, gamersand farming companies. This article examines the key trade mark,patent and design law issues at stake. |
