EULA: Rewrite

The exciting town of Eula, Texas

Well, this week we talked about EULAs. Only slightly more exciting than Texas, most EULAs are pages long and have lots of formal words. MMO producers require players to agree to End-User License Agreements, referred to as EULAs, which are legally binding contracts that lay out the rules and laws of that particular virtual world. Jack M. Balkin wrote Virtual Liberty: Freedom to Design and Freedom to Play In Virtual Worlds, which we discussed extensively. In it he covers the main issues with law in virtual worlds, and how he proposes these issues be resolved. One of the biggest problems with law in virtual worlds is the lack of a neat line between real world law and virtual-world law. Virtual worlds need their own rules, but they're not entirely separate from the real world. This creates complications when things go wrong and real world governments get involved. Additionally, when real world governments do get involved, they are often ill prepared to deal with virtual issues. Current laws are not able to effectively address the complexity within virtual world gameplay.

Minecraft has the shortest EULA of those we discussed. Essentially, Minecraft is a game in which players to build a variety of things using cubes. The EULA is only one page long and contains no legal jargon. It is incredibly informal and casual, with only one very clear rule: players may not distribute the game or any components of the game. This EULA would do very little to protect Minecraft in the case that they have legal issues. Minecraft does however give players the rights to their own creations. I think Balkin would have some objections to this. Not only does the EULA do little by way of clarifying rules and rights, but  it gives players rights. Balkin says that the more rights players have to virtual property, the more there is a need for law. The fact that Minecraft gives players rights but has very few rules and laws to protect itself makes for a weak EULA and puts Minecraft in a difficult position should they need to protect themselves.

Balkin might note that Second Life has a very extensive EULA. Second Life is a game where players purchase property, create and trade virtual objects, and socialize with other players. Balkin would probably be in support of Second Life's ridiculously long EULA because second life grants players the rights to all content that they create in the game. Since players can build a variety of things and the trading and selling of these objects is a huge part of the game, Second Life needs many rules to make sure that it is protected. The one objection Balkin may have to the Second Life EULA is that it is quite long and may be challenged in court because it is inaccessible or users may not be able to understand it. Second Life has already had their EULA challenged and the court decided that part of the EULA could not be held up because of unreasonable requirements.

EVE Online is a space based fictional MMORPG. Its EULA is mid-length and contains standard information and rules. Balkin probably would say that the EVE Online is adequate given the level of player involvement that the game allows, but also that lengthy EULAs may not stand up in court anyway. In general it seems that Balkin thinks of the EULA as a good precaution, but not more, since it can be challenged so easily. With this is mind, it seems that the EVE online EULA covers all the bases, but isn't as ridiculous and lengthy as the Second Life one.