Do We Need Virtual Laws?

Virtual law is interesting because these environments are in one sense fictional, in another very real. People invest real money and time and create real relationships. So, the question is: to what extent should the things that are happening in these environments be treated as if they were happening in physical space or in conventional online forums, email or blogs? We need to give careful consideration to how copyright operates in virtual worlds, where everything is mediated by the software. To a certain degree, copyright law is the umbrella regime for virtual worlds.