And thus, the slippery slope begins. The issue of virtual items, money, and real estate has been an interesting issue as of late, as more and more games place these gameplay ideas into their games. Now we've got a lawsuit for something that happened in Second Life, where one lawyer is suing over the ownership of some virtual land. Is this but a bullet-point, or the beginning of all new legislature?

From the article:

Last year, GamePolitics reported on the case of an attorney who exploited a URL quirk to grab several plots of virtual land for cheap in the popular MMO Second Life.

Because the lots were not yet officially up for auction, SL publisher Linden Labs suspended Marc Bragg’s account for violating the game’s terms of service (ToS).

As lawyers are wont to do, Bragg filed suit in a Pennsylvania court, claiming he was the rightful owner of the virtual real estate and that the game’s flawed auction system didn’t negate the sale legally. Bragg also laid claim to his virtual cash in Lindens, worth about $3,200 USD. Linden Labs officially supports a Linden-to-dollar exchange, and promotes the idea that players own their virtual property.

According to Ars Technica, Linden Labs has filed two motions to dismiss Bragg’s suit, arguing that the attorney acquired the land through “wrongful” means. The judge tossed both motions.

Read the full article over at gamepolitics.com