Issues in the legal regulation of virtual game property circulation

Veronika Kurdyumova; Semyon Kormin

doi:10.34755/s6148-0241-0634-q

UDC 347.2/.3

ISSUES IN THE LEGAL REGULATION OF VIRTUAL GAME PROPERTY CIRCULATION Issues in the legal regulation of virtual game property circulation

АА Аа

Published in Journal of Applied Research · Issue 7, 2026 · ELocator: 361-369 · Rubric: LAW. LEGAL SCIENCES.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34755/s6148-0241-0634-q

Received: 16.10.2026 Accepted: 16.10.2026 Published: 16.10.2026

Authors

Veronika Kurdyumova

Semyon Kormin

Veronika Kurdyumova

Academic degree: candidate of economic sciences

Ural'skiy gosudarstvennyy ekonomicheskiy universitet Russian Federation · Екатеринбурн

Semyon Kormin

Ural State University of Economics inzhener kafedry konstitucionnogo i mezhdunarodnogo prava · Yekaterinburg

ABSTRACT

The article explores the legal nature of virtual gaming property as a special object of civil cir-culation in the digital economy. The relevance of the topic is due to the rapid growth of the global video game market, which in 2025 exceeded $188 billion. USA, as well as the actual in-volvement of in-game objects, accounts and game currency in property relations, not accompa-nied by adequate legal regulation. The main doctrinal approaches to the qualification of virtual game assets are analyzed, including a quasi-temporal concept that considers them by analogy with material things, an intellectual-legal model that justifies their derivation from a computer program, and a liability-property approach that defines their legal regime through the prism of a user agreement. The feasibility of considering virtual game objects as "other property" in the sense of Article 128 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, taking into account their eco-nomic value, turnover and actual ability to act as an object of property claims, is justified. Key problems of legal regulation are identified related to the lack of uniform judicial and doctrinal practice, the conflict between the exclusive right of the developer to a computer game and the claims of users to independently dispose of game attributes, the limitations of legal protection mechanisms, the dominance of platform rules over legislative norms and the cross-border na-ture of digital transactions. Directions for improving the legal regime of virtual gaming proper-ty are proposed, including the introduction of technologically conditioned mechanisms of legal certainty, standardization of user agreements, strengthening authentication systems and the formation of procedural guarantees for users. It is concluded that it is necessary to form an in-dependent civil law regime of virtual assets, combining legal and technological protection mechanisms.

KEYWORDS

virtual gaming property, digital assets, civil turnover, legal qualification, user protection, gam-ing currency, cross-border transactions

Funding

Issledovanie vypolneno za schet sredstv granta, predostavlennogo v forme subsidii iz federal'nogo byudzheta po Soglasheniyu № 075‑15‑2026‑202 ot 20.04.2026 g. na realizaciyu proekta «SCIENCE BRIDGE: Evraziyskaya shkola nauchnoy kommunikacii».

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Ol'ga Shatalova

Chief Editor

Raiganat Babaeva

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Kurdyumova V. A., Kormin S. A. Issues in the legal regulation of virtual game property circulation // Journal of Applied Research. 2026. no. 7. 361-369. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34755/s6148-0241-0634-q. (Date of access 18.10.2026).

MLA

Veronika Kurdyumova, Kormin S. A.. "Issues in the legal regulation of virtual game property circulation." Journal of Applied Research.7 (2026): 361-369. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34755/s6148-0241-0634-q.

APA

Kurdyumova V. A., Kormin S. A. (2026). Issues in the legal regulation of virtual game property circulation. Journal of Applied Research(7), 361-369. https://doi.org/10.34755/s6148-0241-0634-q

Chicago

Veronika Kurdyumova, Kormin S. A.. "Issues in the legal regulation of virtual game property circulation." Journal of Applied Research, no. 7 (2026): 361-369. https://doi.org/10.34755/s6148-0241-0634-q.

WIKI

{{cite journal | author = Kurdyumova V. A., Kormin S. A. | title = Issues in the legal regulation of virtual game property circulation | journal = Journal of Applied Research | year = 2026 | issue = 7 | pages = 361-369 | doi = 10.34755/s6148-0241-0634-q }}

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ISSUES IN THE LEGAL REGULATION OF VIRTUAL GAME PROPERTY CIRCULATION Issues in the legal regulation of virtual game property circulation

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