Civil Law Protection of Network Virtual Property

Abstract

With the rapid development of science and technology, the form of property is not confined to the traditional concept of real life any more, and it also includes network virtual property. Besides, economic benefits are considerable as the network industry grows, which makes trading of virtual property a very common behavior in the real word. In such situation, there are various disputes concerned with virtual property emerging. However, relevant research and legislation can’t make breakthroughs as virtual property has vague legal status, complicated process of identification, and different definitions as well as unsolved legal protection method in academic field. Compared with the development of the network industry, legislation in the scope of virtual property has lagged far behind, which is hard to be the theoretical basis for solving disputes.

By analyzing the attributes of virtual property, and combining relevant cases with research results, the author seeks to put forward the protection rules of virtual property in line with the current situation in China, with civil law protection as the core. Possible further researches and prospects on protecting virtual property are also discussed in this article.