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“Chinese courts view game accounts and microtransaction purchases as something of monetary value, and therefore gamers have rights related to those assets,” u/Slawrfp wrote. “Chinese courts reject the idea that standard non-transferability clauses can stop you from inheriting or bequeathing a game or even individual microtransactions (of the same nature as CS:GO knives or skins in other games) and have made this ruling in multiple cases.”
u/Slawrfp cited several cases — the first one is called “the Golden Blade case," which arose out of a dispute between two parties in 2009. The issue started when the wife (Li Lan) of a deceased gamer (Lu) wanted to sell the “Golden Blade” he acquired in the game Zhengtu , a now-defunct MMORPG. However, Lu required the cooperation of his “in-game wife,” Yang Yuan, to get the item, and therefore argued that she should get ownership.
In the end, the court ruled that since Lu put in the effort, paid for internet access, loaded up with in-game credits, and that buyers were willing to acquire the item for around RMB 50,000 (around $7,350 at the current exchange rate), then it had the attributes of property and could be inherited by his legal wife. Aside from that, DeHeng Law Offices [machine translated] said that the “in-game marriage” between Lu and Yang had no legal bearing, so Li Lan stands as the inheritor of Lu’s properties. But because Yang spent a similar effort in helping Lu to acquire the artifact, its ownership belongs to both, so both Li Lan and Yang Yuan are entitled to 50% each of the asset’s price.
Another case in 2024 tackled a deceased user’s Bitcoin holdings, a gaming account worth nearly $30,000 (RMB 200,000), and a social media account. According to Chinese lawyer Wang Lianghua on the Chinese social media platform Toutiao [machine translated], the inheritor’s lawyer argued that virtual property has attributes of legal property because it could be traded, has value, and could even generate profits, which meets the “scarcity, disposal, and value” definitions of property. On the other hand, the platforms holding these digital assets argued that ownership belongs to them based on the agreements that the user accepted when signing up for the account.
Chinese court rules companies can't fire workers just because AI is cheaper
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/chinese-courts-allow-heirs-to-inherent-accounts-of-deceased-gamers-multiple-cases-spanning-years-establish-precedent-for-digital-ownership-of-games-in-game-items-and-microtransactions#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/membership
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