jakiro
Original author: Lawyer Shao Shiwei
introduction:
The gaming industry has always been one of the fastest and most profitable industries in the world.In traditional games, game operators have control of game control, and the game market lacks transparency and trust. If there are special situations such as game stop service, players’ interests cannot be guaranteed.Compared with traditional games, web3 games (or gamefi, blockchain games), relying on blockchain technology, enable each player to control their own in -game assets, and the use of smart contract technology also makes transactions open and transparent.Therefore, in recent years, more and more game entrepreneurs have focused their attention in Web3 games.
However, due to the existence of web3 game financial attributes and the game mode that focuses on Play to Earn (Making money while playing), compared with traditional games, web3 games have natural policy risks in my country.
So what issues do I need to pay attention to for web3 game entrepreneurs?This article is sorted out from time dimension to list the top ten legal issues that the game project preparations are started, the announcement and promotion phase before and after the game is launched, the game content itself, and the game operation process.
Can the technical team be located abroad, can it avoid domestic legal risks?
This is the most high -frequency legal issue encountered by Lawyer Shao during the consultation, and none of them.
Because many web3 entrepreneurs have a certain understanding of the relevant laws and regulations of my country’s blockchain, they often feel thatSince there are so many restrictions in the country, it is better to put the project abroadIntersectionThen the first thing to solve is the problem of “people”.In order to avoid the legal risks that the project itself may bring to themselves in the domestic project, people often think of finding a foreign technical team for development.Or, in turn, people and projects are overseas, but the development team they are looking for is domestic.
In fact, in terms of the two modes, it may be possible to avoid civil and administrative risks to a certain extent, butCriminal risk is difficult to avoidEssenceBecause in accordance with the provisions of my country’s criminal judicial jurisdiction, according to my country’s criminal law on jurisdiction, the jurisdiction and human jurisdiction are stipulated.The territorial jurisdiction, that is, as long as the criminal or result occurs in the field of my country, my country has jurisdiction; the jurisdiction of human beings means that as long as it is a Chinese, it is criminal in my country, and my country also enjoys jurisdiction.Therefore, as long as the Chinese crime, or criminal acts or results in China, my country has the right to manage it.
What are the policy restrictions in doing web3 games in the country?
The web3 game that focuses on Play to Learn will produce tokens in the game. The tokens generated in foreign web3 games can be realized directly in the exchange, but in China, virtual currency -related businesses are qualitatively illegal finance as illegal financeActivities are prohibited from issuing coins, ICOs are prohibited, and token financing trading platforms are prohibited from engaging in virtual currency and fiat currency, virtual currency exchange business, and so on.
Related policies, such as February 18, 2022, the China Banking Regulatory Commission issued the “Risk Tips on Preventing illegal Funding in the name of the” Macau “reminded the public to be alert to scams under the banner of the Yuan universe blockchain game.Some criminals bundle the concept of the “Yuan Universe”, claiming that “making money while playing games” and “short investment cycle and high income”, deceiving participants to invest in virtual currency and purchase game equipment.On April 13, 2022, the China Internet Finance Association, the China Banking Association and the China Securities Industry Association issued the “Initiative on Preventing NFT -related Financial Risks” directly or indirectly invested NFT and provided financing support for investment NFT as prohibition.matter.
These have made Web3 game entrepreneurship strictly regulate in the country.
A web3 game is launched, do you have to get the game version number?
This problem is distinguished from or abroad.
If web3 games are released in China, the game version number needs to be obtained in accordance with the laws and regulations such as “Interim Regulations on Game Publishing Management”.But how difficult the domestic game version number is, the game practitioners understand.
If there is no version or set version of the game web3 game in China, there is a risk of administrative punishment, and it will be sentencedIllegal operational crimeEssenceAlthough the game has not been obtained, it is online and whether it constitutes the crime of illegal business stipulated in the criminal law in a strict sense, Lawyer Shao believes that there is still a lot of controversy, but in the judicial practice, there are many cases of illegal operations of the game dealer.Legal analysis can refer to → “Chain You Gamefi is launched without a game version number, can it?”, This article will not be repeated.
If we release web3 games abroad, thenIt is not limited by the version number stipulated by the laws of our countryEssenceFor example, the project party puts the web3 game to Steam. Steam is a game distribution platform launched by an American company. There is no domestic version number restriction.So there will be many consultants asking for further questions. Is it legal to go to STEAM for domestic players?Referred to relevant legal analysis → “Is Steam released the game illegal?”In short, from the perspective of compliance, whether the game that is locked to Steam is locked in the country, it is recommended to act in low -key in terms of publicity and publicity.
At the level of declaration, you need to be alert to MLM risks!
Regardless of whether the web3 game server is built at home or abroad, the out drainage level before and after the game is launched must prevent the promotion of the risk of MLM in the process of pulling the new process.Common new pull -up modes are generally A user can generate their own QR codes or links in product posters. By sharing QR codes or links, if B users are registered, A can get relevant rewards of the platform.This reward (or the commission income of the old player) is generally lifted according to the consumption of new players after entering the venue.In the order of joining the game, it forms a pyramid -like hierarchical structure.
According to my country’s laws, MLM refers to the organizer or operator developers who calculate and pay for the number of persons who are directly or indirectly developed by the developed persons or pay for the sale performance. Obtaining illegal interests such as joining qualifications, disrupting economic order, and affecting social stability.If the person who participates in MLM activities within 30 people and the level is more than three or more, the organizers and leaders shall be held criminally responsible for the organizers and leaders.
Gambling is the most important legal risk that web3 game entrepreneurs need to pay attention to
In a press conference held on November 29, 2021, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, it is clearly stated that “the application software suspected of gambling has a significant feature that it has related withdrawal functions.” Web3’s play -making mode, naturally there is gambling involved in gambling.risk.
For example, FOMO3D is a gambling game on Ethereum. The gameplay is that it sets a 24 -hour countdown. As long as someone buys KEY (the game in the game), the countdown will increase by 30 seconds.The larger the prize pool, the more expensive it will be. The last player who buys Key can win huge bonuses at the end of the game.In addition, players holding Key will also have a corresponding proportion of dividends.
If there is a probability of gameplay in the game, players can get game props or token awards by playing games. These rewards can be realized in some ways, such as trading in virtual currency exchanges, game manufacturers through direct or indirectlyThe method of recycling game props/tokens to the gameplay has the characteristics of gambling crimes.For more detailed analysis, please refer to → “Blockchain games that make money while playing while, how to avoid gambling?”.
Domestic web3 games, the legal risk of opening the secondary trading market for players
As mentioned in the previous one, if the platform provides direct/indirect help for players’ game tokens and items, there is a risk of gambling in the game.So many entrepreneurs will ask if they can open a secondary market and let players trade themselves?
First, if it isVirtual currency in the gameWhether it is December 22, 2023, “Online Game Management Measures (Draft Draft for Draft)” or the relevant provisions of the previous game laws, it is mentioned that it is not allowed to provide users with services to exchange legal currencies for online game coins.In addition, the 2017 Announcement of 2017 also clearly stipulates that domestic ICOs are prohibited, so token transactions will also have legal risks that are identified as the issuing tokens in disguise.
Secondly, if it is the NFT assets of players in the game, can it open the secondary (consignment market) for transactions between players?From the perspective of legal compliance, you can refer to the provisions of the two documents of Guofa [2011] No. 38 (Circular 38) and Guojiefa [2012] No. 37 (referred to as No. 37).Concentrated transactions such as matching, anonymous transactions, and market merchants conduct standardized contract transactions.From the perspective of judicial practice, the legal risks of the web3 game platform to open NFT -related secondary markets can refer to the digital collection platform.If the platform opens a secondary level, the user complaints are triggered, and the public security department has launched an investigation, which has caused a lot of cases that the operators are detained.
WEB3 game platform has become a money laundering tool?
In the eyes of criminals, the web3 game platform can also be reduced to its criminal tools.We use the first Roblox platform (online game platform for children and adolescents) as an example.
In 2021, the Yuan universe platform ROBLOX was listed on the bell on the New York Stock Exchange. Earlier in a collective lawsuit on the platform, more than 300 users in the platform may be suspected of using the ROBLOX platform for money laundering activities.These users “seem to use the ROBLOX platform to transfer to each other and realize it by buying fake items. This is a very inefficient and expensive way of transfer.”US dollar) Come to buy the same item of the same seller, and a user spends $ 6,250 a day to buy items they sell.
If the platform has serious defects in supervision, it will harm the interests of the majority of users, and it will also adversely affect the long -term development of the platform itself.
If the platform is established in China, according to the “Network Security Law” and “Regulations on the Management of Blockchain Information Service”, Internet users need to provide real identity information when registering, logging in and using Internet services.According to the “Anti -Money Laundering Law of the People’s Republic of China” and “Regulations on the Management of Payment Clearance Institutions”, Internet companies need to establish and implement a valid Kyc system when providing capital transactions related businesses to ensure customer identity verification and risk risks and risksEvaluation, transaction monitoring and other links have been effectively implemented.
When web3 game entrepreneurs are accused of “fraud”
As a criminal lawyer deeply cultivated in the Web3 industry, the platform involved in the platform that I represented often in the case of user complaints.Players who play games on the platform often have several ways to protect their rights:
(1) A small part of the radical rights protection users often make it unreasonable for your normal reason.I played a loss on your platform, the platform is fraud, and I will report the case.
(2) Some rational users will choose to go to the court to file a civil lawsuit, but generally there will be problems with difficulty in filing, and these users also turn to the police station to report the case.
(3) Most users will choose to call 12345 to complain to the administrative departments such as the Market Supervision Bureau.The accumulation of the number of users above will attract the attention of the public security department. The probability of platform operators will be invited by the police’s “drinking tea”.
Therefore, during the operation process, the platform must establish an effective user complaint processing mechanism to improve customers’ satisfaction with platform services, effectively soothe user emotions, actively communicate, and provide customers with effective solutions.
Web3 game platform needs to prevent illegal fund -raising
According to the “Risk Tips on Preventing illegal fund -raising in the name of the” Yuan Universe “in the name of” Prevention of the Universe “mentioned above, some criminals fabricate the concepts of Yuan universe related games to publicize high publicity, and take the opportunity to absorb public funds.It has the characteristics of illegal fundraising.The crime of illegal fund -raising in criminal law is generally crime of illegally absorbing public deposits and fundraising fraud.
The economic model of early Web3 games has a major defect. The profit of old players is maintained by the admission of new players.Once an old player sells a large number of internal currencies in the game, users in the market fall into “FOMO emotions”, which will cause users to continue to shrink and eventually cause the game to fall into a “death spiral”.If there is no regulation measures, according to the experience of Lawyer Shao, some judicial organs will file a case for criminal criminal crimes such as fund -raising fraud.
WEB3 game intellectual property infringement risk
Digital assets such as NFT in the game should obtain documents such as copyright registration certificates and copyright certificates for registered works. For unregistered works, the platform shall obtain the copyright statement and related commitment signed by the original right holder.EssenceIf the platform is permitted by the copyright owner and uses the works of other people to cast NFT for business behavior, according to the Copyright Law, it is necessary to bear civil liability such as stopping infringement, eliminating impact, apology, and compensation for losses.For more serious cases, according to the situation of the case, it is possible to involve criminal charges such as infringement of copyright and sales of infringement replica.
At the end
With the recovery of the market, Web3 games have begun to have new enthusiasm, and new development teams are constantly emerging.However, for WEB3 game entrepreneurs, my country will be doubled by gaming laws and blockchain -related policies.Lawyer Shao sorted out these ten high -frequency legal issues that may be encountered in the process of WEB3 game entrepreneurship, hoping to help friends in the industry.
