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[Quote]We paid for the game and the things that we do on our computer in the game are ours, therefore the images produced by the game on our screen are not owned by Blizzard.[Quote]
Wrong!
Until such time as you learn how to model a 3D model from scratch, UV it, paint the textures in Photoshop etc, rig it and animate it for use in the game, you own nothing of the intellectual property of the game.
Blizzard paid operators to make a product for them, they own that intellectual properly, they own the world in which your little gaming avatar runs around doing what ever. The objects don't just get made by gnomes for you to wear, real people make the items, get paid to make them and Blizzard pays these people for the rights of owership.
If you buy WOW you don't suddenly OWN wow, you can't go and setup your own server, you can strip out the engine and sell the product for your own gain because you don't OWN WOW. You own the rights to a subscription to play the game, what comes on the cd is the content that you are, by contract allowed to use to play the game but not sell on, redistribute etc.
The debate here is the whole time thing... `I've bought my account.. and that item I got for my character, well no one else has it, I found it on my time while paying for the right to find it in game, so I should be able to do what ever I like with it, I own the character and any items that belong to it...'
Now in the context of the game, sure you should be able to AH it, and you are allowed to do this, where the issues come in is here, you don't `own' the creation of that item, from it's inception as a design from an in house designer, to the leader gfx artist making it the very best it can be for distrubtion for the game. There fore the money that Blizzard paid to make that item gives them rights of ownership. You can't just go off and sell that in the real world for money, because you don't own the intellectual property that MADE IT. Sure you own the time it took to get it, but if you want someting for that you're limited to getting pay back INSIDE the game.
IProp is a huge on going issue atm due to arguements such as duplication for example, (when you view an image on you computer through your browser, storing that image on the HD *which the damn things do by default* could be considered a breech of copywrite due to the fact it's a duplication.. YES IT"S STRANGE!)
I don't dissagree it's a mess, but when Blizzard go out of their way to state that you can not sell on, in game items for real world profit because they own the materials that make world of warcraft and you don't, you can either Agree, or Dissagree.
Where it gets really interesting in my opinion is selling of characters/accounts... screw the debate about items etc because imo that's cut and dry, but characters...
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