a comparative study of the legal status of In-game Transactions in Virtual Environments

The virtual games, as a part of entertainment industry, are basically considered with Cultural and economic approaches, but its legal aspects must be considered. One of important legal issues of these games, is the possibility of buying and selling virtual goods and items within the context of games which has faced challenges. The most important of these challenges is the legal status of these transactions due to the fact that some lawyers are skeptical of the essential requirements of the contract, in particular the terms of the subject maters of contract and the actor's legal rights over the virtual objectsSince everything occurs in a virtual environment, so the objects of transactions are intangible and in fact don't exist. Moreover, what purchased and sold are just beneficial and valuable for game players through the game, so that they have no function and benefit out of the game. This paper tries to have a legal analysis on transaction of virtual items from the point of essential requirements of contract in common law and Iranian legal system .