Note:

Molly Stephens, Sales of In-Game Assets: An Illustration of the Continuing Failure of Intellectual Property Law to Protect Digital Content Creators, 80 TEXAS L. REV. 1513 (2002).

Abstract:

Massively multi-player, online games have become more than just entertainment for players who have sold their characters and in-game assets to other players for thousands of dollars.  These asset sales do not have the approval of the game developers, however, and some developers have attempted to ban asset sales by asserting copyright infringement.  This Note analyzes the validity of the developers’ infringement assertions and explores potential intellectual property theories that protect players who sell their assets.