Legal Regime of Virtual Property and Digital Art

The focus of the thesis is centered around the legal regime of virtual property and digital art. The research was motivated by the high rate of digitalization and computerization of public processes, emergence of new technologies, and development of digital sphere. The research framework incorporates approaches to the definition of digital art and virtual property, sets criteria for distinguishing authors of digital art objects, examines ways for legal regulation of virtual property, and describes risks involved in the usage of digital art objects and virtual property. As a result, the undetermined position of digital art objects is stated, and a classification of such objects is suggested based on the Russian Civil Law. Furthermore, the approaches to virtual property items are described and legal practices are studied. Therefore, the definition of the legal regime of the aforementioned digital objects is a necessary measure for the potential development of digital sphere and virtual space.