A Beijing court has ruled that a woman can inherit her deceased son's 87 gaming accounts, establishing a significant precedent in China regarding the ownership of virtual assets. The ruling comes after the gaming company refused to transfer the accounts to the woman, Mrs. Chen, who sought to inherit them to supplement her meager income following her son's death at age 36.
The son, identified by the surname Gu, reportedly spent a decade playing online games across numerous accounts, making them valuable. After his death from a serious illness, his mother, Mrs. Chen, found herself solely responsible for her finances. His father was deceased, and his daughter had relinquished her inheritance rights, leaving Mrs. Chen as the sole potential heir.
The gaming company argued that its user agreement stipulated that accounts and virtual items belonged to the company, granting users only a limited right to use the data. This defense mirrors the often-unread terms of service that users agree to. However, the court invoked existing Chinese law concerning "inheritable property," which has previously been interpreted to include online virtual assets protected by the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China.
The court reasoned that because users invest time, effort, and money to "cultivate" their accounts and virtual items, these assets possess "use value and transfer value." Consequently, they meet the criteria for "property interests" and are therefore inheritable. The court ordered the gaming company to transfer the real-name authentication of Mr. Gu's accounts to Mrs. Chen within 15 days, stipulating that the user agreement terms would transfer to her as the heir.
This decision appears to establish a new legal precedent in China, challenging the common practice of companies asserting full ownership over in-game assets through user agreements. It highlights how national laws can override terms of service when virtual items are deemed to have significant value and are tied to substantial user investment.
The ruling also raises questions about similar situations in other regions, particularly concerning platforms like Steam. Valve officially states that Steam accounts cannot be inherited. Users who notify Valve of a deceased account holder's passing often find the account locked, rather than transferred. While the Chinese ruling has no direct legal bearing on systems outside of China, it prompts consideration of whether similar legal challenges could arise elsewhere, potentially influencing future laws or judicial interpretations regarding the inheritance of digital assets like game accounts.