This book introduces readers to the emerging and exciting world of virtual law. It examines current cases and legislation impacting virtual world providers and users, and makes predictions about the future application of current law. It addresses the application of intellectual property law (copyright, trademark, and patent), criminal law, property law, contract law, securities law, tax law, and civil procedure. It also provides practical advice to lawyers who wish to create a virtual world presence for their practice or who have clients with virtual world connections. The book includes extensive appendices listing in-world and web-based resources for practitioners and legal scholars.
Benjamin Duranske is an attorney with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, where he focuses his practice on the emerging field of virtual law, intellectual property law, internet law, and litigation. As the author of Virtual Law: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Virtual Worlds (American Bar Association, 2008), the first book on this emerging field, as well as numerous online and print articles on the subject, Mr. Duranske has helped define virtual law. He currently co-chairs the Committee on Virtual Worlds and Multiuser Online Games of the American Bar Association's Section of Science & Technology Law, which he helped establish. He is a frequent speaker on the subject of legal issues facing virtual world and game providers, software developers, content creators, and users. He co-chaired the first Virtual Law Conference, and founded the SL (Second Life(R)) Bar Association, an informal professional organization of attorneys and other legal professionals with an interest in virtual worlds.
Mr. Duranske's practice focuses on all aspects of intellectual property including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, open source and Internet law. His areas of technical focus include virtual worlds, video games, social networks, computer software, user-generated content, e-commerce, and wireless telecommunications.
