An ensemble of virtual characters from the Roblox gaming platform appears in an undated image. San Mateo-based Roblox Corporation has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court against PlayerAuctions Inc. of Los Angeles, alleging the virtual assets players purchase in-game are not allowed to be resold outside the game. (Photo courtesy Roblox Corporation)

A LAWSUIT FILED Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco against the PlayerAuctions gaming marketplace may provide the answer to an important question for online gamers.

Gamers know that the assets they acquire as they play — the game’s “currency” and the virtual assets like clothing or tools that they earn or purchase along the way — have real value, but how can they take advantage of it? Do they have to spend it on the platform where they got it, or can they sell it to someone else?

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Joe Dworetzky is a second career journalist. He practiced law in Philadelphia for more than 35 years, representing private and governmental clients in commercial litigation and insolvency proceedings. Joe served as City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia under Mayor Ed Rendell and from 2009 to 2013 was one of five members of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission with responsibility for managing the city’s 250 public schools. He moved to San Francisco in 2011 and began writing fiction and pursuing a lifelong interest in editorial cartooning. Joe earned a Master’s in Journalism from Stanford University in 2020. He covers Legal Affairs and writes long form Investigative stories. His occasional cartooning can be seen in Bay Area Sketchbook. Joe encourages readers to email him story ideas and leads at joe.dworetzky@baycitynews.com.