Systemic Problems of Criminal Legal Protection of Virtual Objects

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the legal regulation of virtual objects and the problems of protecting public relations associated with their use. In the context of digitalization virtual objects have acquired economic value, and the demand for them is growing every year. However, their legal status remains generally uncertain or not fully defined. The research focuses on the issues of protecting non-fungible tokens, digital currency and in-game virtual objects. The author states that a unified approach to their civil regulation has not been developed. The status of non-fungible tokens remains controversial, and in-game objects are usually equated to intellectual property, while disputes between users and copyright holders that do not extend beyond the game process are not subject to judicial protection. The most regulated is the status of digital currency, however, in this area there are still many shortcomings that require the attention of the legislator. Problems of criminal defense and qualification are closely related to civil law. The rules on crimes in the field of computer information are not able to ensure proper differentiation of liability depending on the consequences of an economic nature. Given the uncertainty of the regime of non-fungible tokens and the application of the “magic circle” concept in relation to game objects, it becomes difficult to attribute them to the subject of theft or extortion. The question remains open about the distribution of signs of “seizure” and “circulation” of property in relation to digital currency. Foreign legislation (China, the Netherlands, Great Britain) speaks of the possibility of applying theft rules in the event of attacks on virtual objects. The author comes to the conclusion that this approach, if extended to domestic legislation, has a number of disadvantages: the casuistic nature of the decision; violation of established law enforcement practice; ignoring license agreements of copyright holders. In this regard, it is advisable to carry out a comprehensive and systematic optimization of civil and criminal legislation, the result of which should be a special regime for the protection of virtual objects.

non-fungible token, virtual object, digital currency, malware, theft, extortion, property damage