Optimization of the Mechanism for Determining Liability for Torts Involving Virtual Property on the Internet under the Civil Code and Data Analysis of Judicial Practice
Main Article Content
Abstract
Although the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China establishes a basic framework for civil rights protection, provisions concerning online virtual property remain principle-oriented and lack specific operational rules for determining tort liability. Based on the basic spirit and principles of the Civil Code, this paper aims to construct a systematic and refined mechanism for determining tort liability involving online virtual property. The study first clarifies theoretical controversies and practical difficulties in liability determination through literature review. It then uses big data analysis to extract, clean, and quantitatively analyze relevant judicial cases published on China Judgments Online from recent years. From the dimensions of case trends, infringing parties, behavior patterns, liability basis, and compensation determination, the paper analyzes the current state of judicial practice, identifying both disagreements and emerging consensus. Based on these findings, it proposes optimization paths for determining responsible parties, clarifying fault elements, proving causation, valuing virtual property, identifying electronic evidence, and defining platform liability.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
References
D. Sugianto and R. Hananto A, “Geospatial Analysis of Virtual Property Prices Distributions and Clustering,” International Journal Research on Metaverse, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 127-141, 2024, doi: 10.47738/ijrm.v1i2.10.
T. Wahyuningsih and C. Chen S, “Determinants of Virtual Property Prices in Decentraland an Empirical Analysis of Market Dynamics and Cryptocurrency Influence,” International Journal Research on Metaverse, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 157-171, 2024, doi: 10.47738/ijrm.v1i2.12.
R. Yadulla A, H. Maturi M, K. Meduri, et al., “Sales Trends and Price Determinants in the Virtual Property Market: Insights from Blockchain-Based Platforms,” International Journal Research on Metaverse, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 113-126, 2024, doi: 10.47738/ijrm.v1i2.9.
A. Spithoven, “Virtual property and governance structures with blockchain,” Journal of Economic Issues, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 466-475, 2023, doi: 10.1080/00213624.2023.2201621.
Deng Xianli, “Research on the current status and regulation of the protection of virtual property rights in online games from the perspective of civil law,” Journal of Taiyuan City Vocational and Technical College, no. 6, pp. 173-175, 2025, doi: 10.16227/j.cnki.tycs.2025.0335.
K. Sanjaya and L. Rajavenkatesan P R, “Intellectual property protection for virtual assets and brands in the Metaverse: issues and challenges,” International Journal of Intellectual Property Management, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 527-536, 2024, doi: 10.1504/IJIPM.2024.142411.
C. Lim E, “Finding nemo: Digital art, tokenised assets, virtual property and the right of communication in copyright law,” The Journal of World Intellectual Property, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 69-87, 2024, doi: 10.1111/jwip.12290.
A. Nusratullaevich Y, “Virtual property in the digital age: legal nature and regulatory approaches,” Emerging Frontiers Library for The American Journal of Political Science Law and Criminology, vol. 7, no. 07, pp. 29-33, 2025, doi: 10.37547/tajpslc/Volume07Issue07-06.
J. Jon W and W. Yang, “Mapping South Korea’s digital asset regulatory landscape: From criminal code to the recently implemented virtual asset user protection act,” Computer Law & Security Review, vol. 57, Art. no. 106140, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.clsr.2025.106140.
V. Rane, “BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: A PROPOSED INTEGRATED DISPUTE RESOLUTION MODEL FOR VIRTUAL ASSETS,” Available at SSRN 4851644, 2024, doi: 10.2139/ssrn.4851644.
V. Muradyan S, “Digital assets: Legal regulation and estimation of risks,” Journal of Digital Technologies and Law, vol. 1, no. 1, 2023, doi: 10.21202/jdtl.2023.5.
J. Wyczik, “Ownership in the 21st century: property law of digital assets,” Information & Communications Technology Law, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 187-206, 2025, doi: 10.1080/13600834.2024.2408917.
W. Lifang, “Legal Protection of Virtual Property: Current Status and Future Development of Digital Currency and Virtual Goods Regulation,” hand, vol. 6, no. 10, pp. 80-84, 2024, doi: 10.25236/IJFS.2024.061012.
J. Wyczik, “The rise of the metaverse: tethering effect and intellectual property of crypto tokens,” Journal Of Intel lectual Property Law and Practice, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 358-370, 2024, doi: 10.1093/jiplp/jpad124.
V. Kumar, “The Evolving frontier: Examining the legal status of virtual property in metaverse platforms,” International Journal of Legal Science and Innovation, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 1032-1041, 2024, doi: 10.10000/IJLSI.112011.