Class Action Complaint Filed Over Virtual World "Gold Farming"
Being a bit of a WoW aficionado, I can't pass up a story where the virtual and legal worlds collide. Marty Schwimmer at The Trademark Blog has just such a story with the news that a player of Blizzard Entertainment's enormously-successful MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) World of Warcraft, has filed a class action complaint in federal court in Florida against alleged so-called "gold farmers," who generate virtual gold and sell it to players for "real life" money.
The plaintiff has asserted, among other claims, causes of action for breach of third party beneficiary contract (the End User License Agreement and Terms of Use Agreement), violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, violation of state consumer protection acts and conspiracy.
You can find the amended complaint here (PDF, 48 pages) and answer here (PDF, 19 pages).
