In 2017, sometime between Sept. 11 and 12, a total of $60,000 worth of digital assets were stolen from people around the world. The conspirators didn’t hide their identities, and they faced no criminal charges. As it turns out, there are no laws against stealing spaceships in a video game — even if they’re worth thousands of real-world dollars. EVE Online is a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) that was launched in 2003, and it was on this game that the theft occurred. This science-fiction game is all about spacefaring, but one notable feature of the game is that it allows players to purchase in-game assets with real money. This attracts players who can spend large sums on the game, with some of the game’s largest spaceships costing $9,000. But one thing to note in EVE Online is that no matter how much you pay, once you lose an asset, it’s gone forever. Because of the risk-reward nature of the game, many players unite in huge factions for safety and to pool their resources. One of these groups, Circle of Two or CO2, was the target of the 2017 attack. Within a matter of hours, CO2’s bank accounts were drained and the space
stations holding their fleets of ships were sold to their enemies. It was clear from the beginning: This was an inside job. The thief was CO2’s own head diplomat, a player called “The Judge.” For years he’d worked his way through the alliance’s ranks, only to use the access he eventually gained to rob it blind. But greed may not have been his only motivation. He’d had public disagreements with CO2’s leader called Gigx, and a rival faction was able to capitalize on this internal conflict. During an in-person EVE Online summit held in Iceland, representatives from The GoonSwarm Federation convinced The Judge to leave CO2 and commit the single largest robbery in gaming history on his way out. In the real world, The Judge’s actions were completely legal — currently, international law doesn’t treat such virtual objects as personal property. But this perception may be changing. As in-game purchases become more widespread in video games, legal lines have blurred, causing an increasing number of lawmakers to rethink what constitutes “ownership” in the digital age. But, for now at least, it seems like a good time to be a space pirate.
CRIMELESS THEFT IN CYBERSPACE T he $60,000 H eist Y ou ’ ve N ever H eard O f
C an Y ou B e C ompensated I f Y ou C atch the C oronavirus at W ork ? AN INCREASING NUMBER OF INSURANCE COMPANIES SAY YES!
Thousands of people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, or COVID-19, and there’s a good chance a lot of them caught it while working. Many cities and states have issued full or partial shelter- in-place orders over the last few months. However, essential services are still up and running, meaning health care professionals, restaurant workers, and delivery drivers (among many others) are at risk of catching the virus on the clock. With questions mounting over the compensability of coronavirus illness, the national claimants’ advocacy organization Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group (WILG) is calling on insurers to relax their opposition to COVID-19 claims. “Insurance companies have been making tremendous profits, so it stands to reason
that they should accept coronavirus claims during this crisis if any nexus at all can be shown between contracting the virus and employment,” WILG President William Smith said in March. Some insurance companies in states including Kentucky, Washington, and California are already offering additional benefits or payment grace periods for coronavirus victims. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) recently noted that 10 states have now mandated increased coverage by group health plans for coronavirus testing and emergency room visits. Some states have more generous occupational disease provisions than others. But in many, workers need to prove they contracted the virus while performing their job duties, and that burden of proof varies
from state to state. Because the virus is so prevalent, proving where it came from can be a major hurdle. If there is a good chance you might come in contact with the virus while working, we encourage you to maintain detailed records about potential exposures, just in case you need to file a claim. Here in South Carolina, the relationship between workers’ compensation claims and coronavirus is still evolving. If you or a loved one contracted the coronavirus at work and you’d like to discuss filing a workers’ compensation claim, our team can give you the latest information. Our office is currently offering phone and video consultations. To reach us, call 843-595-8565 or visit ChristmasInjuryLawyers.com. This story was originally reported by William Rabb for WorkCompCentral.com.
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