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Wednesday, 06 October 2010 06:04

Written by Ipso Facto

Commuting in Second Life

The book debuts less than a month after Oliver Chiang's report at Forbes' SelectStart blog that sector analysts predict the exchange of virtual goods and services will pass the $2 billion mark next year ... which would represent a doubling of the realm's cash activity within two years.

Lastowka talked with NPR's Brooke Gladstone about the book and the issues it conjures -- see player at right -- and also offers a look at some key points in a post at the Madisonian blog, including:

All of this suggests that virtual worlds are becoming, in essence, separate jurisdictions governed by separate rules. As a matter of legal doctrine, these rules may not qualify as “laws,” given that no territorial government has recognized the formal sovereignty of virtual worlds. But as a matter of effective legal practice, the doctrines of contract, property, hacking, and intellectual property all serve to greatly empower those who own and administer virtual worlds, effectively insulating their actions from legal review.

So ... is a new field of legal practice germinating in the new worlds online?

One sure sign would be magic swords and dragon-skin wingtips in the windows at Brooks Brothers along Smithfield Street ... or has the Age of Virtual Law already begun?

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