ABSTRACT
This chapter examines two topics which are quite different, but which are related by one concept, that of property. One type of property is intellectual property and the second type of property is personal property. The chapter focuses on objects that exist only within the context of an online environment. There are two particular situations where this commonly occurs: computer games and virtual environments. Theft Act 1968 states: A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it. A growing body of literature has begun to consider whether one should begin to recognise virtual objects as a form of property that can be stolen. Some have suggested that the property rights are gained through effort. That the principal method of gaining the objects and therefore the property is to work hard and to play the game.
