White paper predicts that conflicts over "ownership" of virtual property will increase and intensify--and will play out soon in a courtroom near you.

Surely one of the reasons the whole computer game experience is embraced by the millions who amuse themselves online, in single-player experiences, or in group play is that the moments at play so successfully replace the craziness, tedium, and even tragedy of real-world events. But now, the virtual terrain is becoming as complicated as any real-world landscape ever was. The reason? In part, it is due to a theme imported directly from the real world. In a word: ownership.