Emerging Legal Questions Arise in Virtual Worlds

Rob Phillips has written a thought provoking article, "Real Law in a Virtual World: Legal Questions Arise in an Emerging Web based Landscape" in the Spring 2009 issue of All Rise, from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.  Phillips begins with a description of virtual worlds in general and Second Life in particular.  He gives examples of library, business, government, and nonprofits in second life.  He then explains why lawyeres (and other perhaps) should care about virtual worlds.  Phillips focuses on four areas:  "intellectual property, tax, privacy, and employment law."  The article includes an interesting sidebar on "When Virtual-World Behavior Equals Real World Crime".