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Ask HN: Pokemon GO: Do I own the virtual space of the physical space I own?

• qwertyuiop924 10y ago
  I think so. It's just an RNG on a server somewhere. Physically, they aren't putting anything in your house. Heck, I'm not sure if the RNG is centralized or not. Pokemon locations may be generated locally. Given the server load, I'd certainly do it that way. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.
  • joshschreuder 10y ago
    I believe it is centralised, as I'm pretty sure the same Pokemon can appear on multiple players' devices in the same location. See here for consequences: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Pokemon-Go-Players-Stampede-New-York-Central-Park-387303572.html http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Pokemon-Go-Players-Stam...
• krapp 10y ago
  >Is Niantic allowed to spawn virtual creatures in the coordinates of the land I own? <pedant>Those creatures aren't actually in those coordinates. They appear onscreen when your device is at a certain set of coordinates, but they never actually 'leave' the app in any meaningful way. Since there's really no such thing as a "virtual space of a physical space" for them to reside in, the question is moot. </pedant>
  • kinkdr 10y ago
    Fair enough. Now my next question is, do I have a claim on the Pokemons spawned in the coordinates my land? I am happy to claim ownership on anything that grows on the coordinates of my land. There have been a lot of suggestions recently that our universe is just a simulation, in which case anything that grows on the coordinates on my land is just information stored on the server that run the simulation. Why would it be different with the Pokemons? Let's say I was a Pokemon player as well. I imagine I would be quite aggravated if somebody would come in my land and try to catch my pokemons. Isn't that how we can imagine that the notion of ownership for the physical world started? People fighting for the control of land, because of the resources contained in the coordinates of the given land.
    • joshschreuder 10y ago
      First off, the Pokemon aren't only catchable by one person in a given location. Anyone with the app open can catch the Pokemon, so there is no exclusivity to having one appear on your property. Secondly, if our universe is a simulation, do you really own the land you claim to?
      • kinkdr 10y ago
        > the Pokemon aren't only catchable by one person in a given location. Oh.. Didn't know that.. > Secondly, if our universe is a simulation, do you really own the land you claim to? We have to go back to the root of what ownership is. The way I see it ownership of land evolved somehow like this: During stone ages or somewhere along that time, a group of humans decided that anything that grows or walks around that land was theirs to claim. Hence if another group of people tried to catch or collect something on that land they would start a fight. In essence this means that ownership of the land => ownership of the resources on the land. Back to the Pokemon, and again I thought that only one person could catch the Pokemon that spawn in a location. A Pokemon is a resource that is only available on a specific location, even if it needs a smartphone to see it and catch it. Assuming that this resource has some value, how is it different than a buffalo that lives in a specific location. It too needs tools to catch it. Therefore I cannot see why I cannot claim ownership on a Pokemon that spawned in my land, the same way I claim ownership on a tree that grew in my land. Edit: BTW, just making very lighthearted discussion.
        • krapp 10y ago
          >Therefore I cannot see why I cannot claim ownership on a Pokemon that spawned in my land, the same way I claim ownership on a tree that grew in my land. Because it didn't spawn in your land, it spawned in the app on your phone. Unless you're claim ownership over the app on your phone because the phone is "in your land," you've got nothing to claim ownership of in this case.
          • kinkdr 10y ago
• draw_down 10y ago
  It's their database. We're just living in it.
  • saiprashanth93 10y ago
    This is the kind of meta comment that really gets you thinking.
• tiredwired 10y ago
  It's space in a parallel universe not your universe.
• Rannath 10y ago
  You might not even really own the physical space. What would happen if you didn't pay land tax (or your local equivilent)?
• felisml 10y ago
  Do you own any virtual space corresponding to your physical space? No. But you can sue someone over the effect they have on your physical space.