Disposition of proprietary virtual rights

• US 20060178967A1
• Filed: 10/14/2005
• Published: 08/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Lord, Robert W., Jung, Edward K.Y., Levien, Royce A., Malamud, Mark A., Rinaldo, John D. Jr.
• Application Number:
  US11/251,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20060178967A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/792 for payment purposes, e.g. monthly subscriptions
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/85 Providing additional services to players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5513 involving billing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5586 for enforcing rights or rules, e.g. to prevent foul play
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/575 for trading virtual items
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

A method and system provides transactions and arrangements in virtual world environments. A user can participate in transactions to acquire virtual property and related virtual rights. In some implementations, real-world and virtual parties can be involved in possible transfers of various types of virtual property and virtual property rights.

Claims

1. A method of resolving virtual world property ownership, comprising:

identifying a virtual world property right in a virtual world environment, which virtual world property right has been acquired by a donor party;

establishing confirmation that the virtual world property right is capable of being transferred, which transfer includes a proprietary virtual claim regarding individual and/or composite objects in the virtual world environment;

pursuant to authorization by or on behalf of the donor party, transferring the proprietary virtual claim to a designated successor party.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

requiring a real-world and/or virtual world pre-condition before making the transfer.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said requiring includes:

requiring confirmation of one or more of the following types of real-world occurrences as at least a partial pre-condition to said transferring;

death of donor party;

unable to locate donor party;

non-response from donor party;

criminal conviction of donor party;

change in group membership;

group member absence;

donor party not in group;

donor party not part of organization, donor party no longer married, donor party no longer a government citizen, donor party now is a government citizen, donor party disqualified, and bankruptcy or insolvency of donor party.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein said requiring includes:

requiring confirmation of one or more of the following virtual world pre-conditions as at least a partial basis for said transferring;

character death, character demise, disabled character, character incapacitated, character no longer viable, character destruction, character disappearance, lack of character participation for given period of time, no change of programmed participation of character for given period of time, character banned from the virtual world environment, violation by character of one or more virtual environment rules, non-compliance with VW oversight rule, failure of character to pay a virtual world debt, default on virtual world agreement, default on payment of virtual world subscription, disqualification of virtual world group, eviction from virtual world group, violation of oversight rule, breach of rating restriction, overdraft of virtual account, guilty of virtual crime, conviction of virtual crime, illegal virtual activity, detection of change in VW resource use pattern, detection of lack of change in VW resource use pattern, lack of response to specific probes, incorrect response to specific probes, unauthorized character impersonation, and satisfaction of conditions established by owner of character.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein said requiring includes:

requiring confirmation of a demise or dissolution or disqualification of a virtual world setting or group involving a virtual world character related to the donor party as at least a partial pre-condition to said transferring.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said transferring the proprietary virtual claim includes:

transferring a virtual right to make one or more identical or modified copies of a virtual aspect or attribute or element.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said transferring the proprietary virtual claim includes:

transferring a virtual right to make a duplication or reproduction of a non-divisible composite virtual object.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said transferring the proprietary virtual claim includes:

transferring a virtual right to make a duplication or reproduction of one or more individual elements incorporated in a divisible composite virtual object.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

requiring one or more of the following types of real-world or virtual world requirements as a pre-condition to completing the transfer to a recipient;

recipient'"'"'s traits, recipient'"'"'s characteristics, recipient'"'"'s capability, possessions of recipient, correlated items of recipient, recipient'"'"'s relinquishment of non-compatible object, recipient'"'"'s acquisition of compatible object, context of transfer, circumstances of donor party'"'"'s disqualification, prior conduct of donor party, future RW conduct of recipient, future VW conduct of recipient, restricted future use of property right, required type of future use of property right, third party oversight of property right, and resolution of adverse claim.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said transferring includes:

making a permanent transfer of the proprietary virtual claim.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said transferring includes:

making temporary transfer of the proprietary virtual claim.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

delaying or disqualifying said transferring based on one or more of the following types of adverse claim or defect;

real-world estate claim, real-world creditor claim, real-world contractual claim, real-world legal claim, real-world group claim, real-world family claim, prior real-world transfer, virtual world estate claim, virtual world creditor claim, virtual world contractual claim, virtual world legal claim, virtual world family claim, prior virtual world transfer, virtual world item expiration, item lost, item destroyed, item not separable, virtual world privilege expiration, voided right, rescinded right, forfeited right, item no longer identifiable, right not separable, group right vetoed by group, right no longer legally transferable, right no longer recognized, right no longer exercisable, erroneous death confirmation, forged authorization, improper authorization, misplaced authorization, jointly owned right, conflicting authorizations, transfer revoked, violation of oversight authority, change of virtual attributes, existing right does not match transferred right, existing description does not match transferred description, and third party consent denied.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

providing for a forfeiture or relinquishment of the virtual world property right in the event that the adverse claim cannot be resolved.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

making an award of the virtual world property right to another party that is successful in making an adverse claim.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing a virtual world notice indicating that the donor party or its associated virtual world character is deemed to be deceased, demised, disabled or otherwise disqualified from continued ownership of the VW property right.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

requiring the successor party to be a current participant in the virtual world environment before implementing said transferring.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

making accessible in a real-world environment and/or a virtual world environment a record that identifies one or more of the following;

donor party, virtual character associated with donor party, virtual world property right, virtual proprietary claim, designated successor party, secondary beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, authorization for transferring, date of authorization, revised authorization, adverse claim, status of adverse claim, resolution of adverse claims, date of completed transfer, and recipient of completed transfer.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said making the record accessible in the real-world environment includes:

making the record accessible to one or more of the following;

owner of virtual-world environment, operator of virtual-world environment, real-world party donor, party selected by donor, agent of donor, designated successor party, party selected by successor party, approved representative of real-world party donor, approved representative of designated successor party, secondary beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, joint beneficiary, parent of successor who is a minor, guardian of successor who is a minor, officer of successor entity, and officer of successor group.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein said making the record accessible in the virtual world environment includes:

making the record accessible to one or more of the following;

owner of virtual-world environment, operator of virtual-world environment, real-world party donor, party selected by donor, agent of donor, designated successor party, party selected by successor party, approved representative of real-world party donor, approved representative of designated successor party, secondary beneficiary, contingent beneficiary, joint beneficiary, parent of successor who is a minor, guardian of successor who is a minor, officer of successor entity, and officer of successor group.

20. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

making a record of the authorization for said transferring, which record of the authorization includes one or more of the following transfer requirements;

secondary beneficiary;

group beneficiary, charitable beneficiary, joint beneficiaries, real-world party donor to be anonymous, disclose identity of real-world donor only after confirmation of death, subject to contingency, contingent on type of death or disqualification of real-world donor, contingent on type of death or demise or disability or disqualification of virtual world donor, contingent on successor having attribute, contingent on successor not having attribute, contingent on successor having certain item, contingent on successor not having certain item, contingent on successor having related item, contingent on successor having right to acquire related item, contingent on successor having right to inherit related item, conditional transfer based on successor party'"'"'s age, conditional transfer based on successor party'"'"'s education, conditional transfer based on successor party'"'"'s marital status, transfer conditional upon acceptance by successor party;

transfer conditional upon timely acceptance, transfer conditional upon inspection by successor party, collective transfer of all virtual property rights of real-world party donor, transfer of multiple versions of the subject matter of the property right;

authorize duplicate virtual attributes or aspects to be transferred;

collective transfer of all virtual property rights to respective designated beneficiaries, transfer voided if successor party deceased, further transferability not authorized;

transfer to occur at given date even if real-world party donor still alive;

transfer conditional upon approval of third party;

transfer made to trustee on behalf of successor party, transfer made to trustee on behalf of beneficiary;

liquidating virtual world property right prior to transfer, obtaining liquidated virtual world value as subject of transfer, and obtaining liquidated real-world value as subject of transfer.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein said making the record of the authorization includes:

allowing the donor party add a revision to a previous authorization for said transferring.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said allowing the donor party to add the revision to the previous authorization includes;

allowing the donor party to make one or more of the following types of authorization changes;

revoke the authorization;

change the designated successor party;

substitute one or more new designated successor parties;

change the virtual world property right;

divide the virtual world property right, transfer multiple rights;

transfer multiple items;

add contingency;

identify one or more additional virtual world property rights;

change a beneficiary;

add one or more new beneficiaries;

add secondary beneficiary;

change a requirement;

add one or more new requirements;

add third party authorization;

add joint owner authorization; and

add group authorization,

23. The method of claim 21 wherein said making the record includes:

maintaining the record of the authorization and/or the revision as confidential for a period prior to said transferring.

24. A method of enabling transfer of a virtual world property right, comprising:

providing a procedure for transferring a virtual world proprietary right pursuant to an authorization from a virtual world patron, which transferring is subject to a term or condition;

maintaining a record of the authorization;

confirming compliance with the term or condition; and

transferring the virtual world proprietary right to a successor party designated by the virtual world patron.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein said transferring the virtual world proprietary right includes:

transferring to the successor party a virtual world proprietary right to make an one or more copies of a virtual aspect or attribute or element.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein said transferring the virtual world proprietary right includes:

transferring a virtual world proprietary right to make a modified copy of a virtual aspect or attribute or element.

27. The method of claim 24 wherein said transferring the virtual world proprietary right includes:

transferring a virtual world proprietary right to make a specified number of identical or modified copies of a virtual aspect or attribute or element.

28. The method of claim 24 further comprising:

requiring something of value as consideration for said transferring the virtual world proprietary right.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein said requiring something of value includes:

requiring something of real-world and/or virtual world value from or on behalf of the virtual world patron.

30. The method of claim 28 wherein said requiring something of value includes:

requiring something of real-world and/or virtual world value from the successor party or other beneficiary

31. The method of claim 24 further comprising:

sending one or more of the following types of communication, notification or information request to the successor party and/or other beneficiary regarding said transferring the virtual world proprietary right;

identity confirmation;

acceptance of transfer;

tendering required consideration;

response deadline;

confirmation of death of real-world party;

applicable restriction;

preliminary requirement;

compliance with applicable restriction;

non-compliance with applicable restriction;

compliance with preliminary requirement;

non-compliance with preliminary requirement;

virtual world status, attribute, level, possession, log, other contract, other obligation, clan membership, group membership, relationship, skill, and avatar.

32. The method of claim 24 further comprising

sending a communication to a representative of the virtual world patron and/or to the successor party and/or to another beneficiary, which communication includes notification of a preliminary requirement prior to said transferring to a real-world or virtual world recipient.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein said sending the communication includes:

sending the notification of one or more of the following types of real-world or virtual world preliminary requirements;

verification of identity of recipient;

verification of recipient'"'"'s age, consent by recipient virtual world participation agreement, consent by recipient to retain the virtual world property right for given period of time;

consent by recipient to pay transfer fee;

payment of fee;

consent by real-world third party;

consent by virtual world third party;

consent by real-world group;

consent by virtual world group;

recipient'"'"'s traits, recipient'"'"'s characteristics, recipient'"'"'s capability, possessions of recipient, correlated items of recipient, recipient'"'"'s relinquishment of non-compatible object, recipient acquisition of compatible object, context of transfer, circumstances of donor party'"'"'s disqualification, prior conduct of donor party, stated intention of donor party, prior statement of recipient, recipient'"'"'s stated belief, recipient'"'"'s stated intention, recipient'"'"'s past RW behavior, recipient'"'"'s past VW behavior, recipient'"'"'s RW citizenship, recipient'"'"'s VW citizenship, recipient'"'"'s RW financial status, recipient'"'"'s VW financial status, recipient'"'"'s compliance with RW law, recipient being subject to RW statute, future RW conduct of recipient, future VW conduct of recipient, restricted future use of property right, third party oversight of property right, and resolution of adverse claim.

34. The method of claim 24 wherein said providing the procedure includes:

providing the procedure for transferring the virtual world property right pursuant to authorization and/or consent from one or more of the following;

real-world person, real-world person under eighteen years of age, real-world person over eighteen years of age, real-world family member, real-world parent, real-world guardian, real-world group, real-world organization, real-world entity, real-world third party, virtual world character, virtual world group, virtual world programmed avatar, virtual world artificial intelligence robot, virtual world player, virtual world character, virtual world non-player character, virtual world participant, virtual world non-participant entity, virtual world owner, virtual world operator, and virtual world third party.

35. The method of claim 24 wherein said transferring includes:

transferring the virtual world property right to one or more of the following types of successor parties;

real-world person, real-world person under eighteen years of age, real-world person over eighteen years of age, real-world family, real-world group, real-world organization, a real-world entity, a real-world third party, a virtual world character, a virtual world group, a virtual world player, a virtual world participant, a virtual world third party, virtual world owner, virtual world operator, virtual group at a virtual world location or setting, real-world group in a particular real-world location, real-world group in a particular real-world region, active participant at particular real-world time, active participant at particular virtual world time, and another virtual character of virtual world patron.

36. A computer-implemented system comprising:

a virtual world in which a patron of the virtual world may participate and acquire a transferable right regarding a virtual world object;

a module to facilitate authorizing a disposition of the transferable right to a designated successor party, which right includes a proprietary virtual right to make an identical or modified copy of the virtual world object ; and

a record of any required information including an applicable term or condition required for the disposition to occur.

37. The system of claim 36 wherein said module further includes:

a module component to facilitate disposition to the designated successor party of the proprietary virtual right regarding a virtual aspect or attribute or element of the virtual world.

38. The system of claim 36 wherein said module further includes:

a module component to facilitate disposition to the designated successor party of the proprietary virtual right regarding a composite virtual object of the virtual world.

39. The system of claim 36 wherein said module further includes:

a module component to facilitate disposition to the designated successor party of the proprietary virtual right regarding one or more individual elements of a composite virtual object of the virtual world.

40. The system of claim 36 wherein said module further includes:

a module component to facilitate making a conditional transfer of the proprietary virtual right to a virtual escrow agent or a real-world escrow agent prior to implementing the disposition to the designated successor party.

41. The system of claim 36 wherein said module further includes:

a module component to facilitate making a conditional transfer of the proprietary virtual right based on confirming that the successor party or beneficiary has one or more of the following types of required virtual aspects or attributes or elements;

level access, experience token, skill level, enabling state, capability, related virtual right, related characteristic, related character trait, related character ability, stated belief, stated intention, correlated personality, designated mood, certain emotional trait, particular possession, correlated item, compatible object, prior conduct, group membership, non-group membership, citizenship, non-citizenship, subject to restriction, subject to supervisory authority, subject to rating scheme, subject to law, subject to regulation, commitment to future conduct, third party oversight, related virtual property, virtual real estate, currently active character, and currently a participant in virtual world.

42. The system of claim 36 wherein said record includes:

a transfer-related tag or flag associated with one or more of the following;

patron, transferable right, proprietary virtual right, virtual right to make identical copy, virtual right to make modified copy, designated successor party, designated virtual world successor party, designated real-world successor party, applicable transfer term, and applicable transfer condition.

43. The system of claim 36 wherein said record includes one or more of the following requirements:

read-only access to patron, read/write access to patron, read-only access to designated successor party, read/write access to virtual world owner, read/write access to virtual world operator.

44. A computer program product having encoded instructions for executing a process, wherein the process comprises:

providing a virtual world environment where a participant is enabled to interact with another participant or with a non-player entity;

facilitating an arrangement to transfer a virtual property right to a designated successor party, which transfer includes a virtual right to make one or more copies of a virtual world individual or composite object; and

making a record of the arrangement to transfer.

45. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the process includes:

facilitating the arrangement to transfer a virtual right to make one or more copies of separable elements incorporated in the composite object.

46. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the process includes:

facilitating the arrangement to transfer a virtual right to make one or more copies of a composite object having inseparable elements.

47. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the process includes:

facilitating the arrangement to transfer a virtual right regarding one or more of the following types of virtual world individual or composite objects;

composite virtual character, virtual character name, virtual character trait, character attribute, composite avatar, virtual skill, virtual key, access right, value tokens, virtual currency, experience points, level access, virtual property, virtual real property, virtual personal property, property right, contractual right, email account, password, key, location, site, history, log, activity log, chat log, activity log, messages, message log, list, companion list, contact list, address list, item, modified item, item component, disguise, clothing, clothing component, accessory, weapon, tool, vehicle, magical power, decoration, inventory, store credit, virtual charge account, virtual role, virtual position, group membership, all virtual rights of donor, and total asset accumulation of donor.

48. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the process includes:

facilitating the arrangement to transfer a virtual right to make one or more identical or modified copies of a virtual aspect or attribute or element.

49. The computer program product of claim 44, further comprising:

a transmission carrier medium for encoding the instructions.

50. The computer program product of claim 44, further comprising:

a storage carrier medium for encoding the instructions.

51. The computer program product of claim 44 wherein said facilitating the arrangement to transfer includes:

allowing a transfer to a virtual world successor party.

52. The computer program product of claim 44 wherein said facilitating the arrangement to transfer includes:

allowing a transfer to a real-world successor party.

53. The computer program product of claim 44 wherein said process is encoded on storage and/or signal transmission media accessible to multiple virtual world patrons having logon capabilities at different locations.

54. The computer program product of claim 44 wherein said process is encoded on storage and/or signal transmission media capable of functional operation on localized computer apparatus accessible to an individual virtual world patron.