Online gamer wins virtual theft case
19 December 2003
A Chinese court has vindicated an online gamer seeking compensation for losing valuable intellectual property stored in his game account.
Beijing Arctic Ice Technology Development, the firm that runs the cult online game Red Moon, was ordered to restore the virtual property of victories and weapons that Li Hongchen had amassed in two years of playing the game, Xinhua news agency reported.
The court ruled that the company was liable because it left the accounts of its customers vulnerable to attacks by hackers, which caused the loss of Li Hongchen's data, through holes in its servers.
The case marks China's first virtual property theft case and is indicative of the boom of the country's online gaming market, which is thought to be worth at least two billion yuan (£135 million) and growing by 100 per cent annually.
'I exchanged the equipment with my labour, time, wisdom and money, and of course they are my belongings,' Li Hongchen, who demanded 10,000 yuan (£680) in compensation, was quoted as saying.
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