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Chinese Divorce Court Rejects Wife?s Property Division Claim to Half of Marital Digital Assets

By Janet Langjahr

Chinese Husband and Wife meet playing games online and marry in 2008.

Husband and Wife both just want to play games online though.

After they marry, they both play on Husband’s account.

Both rack up virtual or digital prizes and jackpots … on Husband’s account.

Turns out, Husband’s and Wife’s real life marriage is not as entertaining as their online game playing.

Wife files for divorce.

And Wife seeks half of the couple’s virtual cyber-wealth accumulated during their marriage.

At trial, a Chinese divorce court denies Wife’s property division claim for half of the couple’s digital assets. Because the Court doesn’t know how to value the web assets.

In one sense, these intangible assets may have no value in the real world in the usual sense. But Wife may simply have failed to meet her evidentiary burden of proof.

There is reportedly an active resale market in which Western newbies to the online games actually buy points accumulated by others in order to leapfrog to higher tiers of competition in the online games. And the resale market should furnish a fair market value for the digital assets on terra firma.

Read more in this China Daily article: Court dismisses woman’s claim to virtual assets and this Time Healthland article: Memo to Gamer-Wives: You Can’t Take it with You.

Full post as published by Florida Divorce - Child Custody - Domestic Abuse Law on January 12, 2011 (boomark / email).