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As we all know Pokémon Go is all the rage. There have been reports that police stations are common hot spots for gyms and collections. Churches have also been a common hot spot. I think there is also a story where a man bought an old church and now that is his residence. Regardless of whether that story is true it made me think:

What is the legality of someone putting a virtual hot spot on your property without permission? I know we are in uncharted territory, but how would this compare to setting up a contest that would require going on your property without permission? Is it currently legal to say, "Go to person X's house and touch a tree"? If not, does the current law extend to augmented reality?

To me both are attractions which cause a gathering of people.

psmears
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Mike
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1 Answers1

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What is the legality of someone putting a virtual hot spot on your property without permission? I know we are in uncharted territory but how would this compare to setting up a contest that would require going on your property without permission?

The existence of a game does not authorise entrance to private property, barring some agreement with the owner.

That is - if it is trespassing without Pokemon Go (or, for that matter Ingress), then it is trespassing while playing them.

That being said, the creators of the game are free to place their in-game targets anywhere they please, and it is hard to imagine a scenario where they would be liable for their users' actions, unless they have not taken reasonable steps to prevent their users from doing so - Niantic clearly instruct their users to respect the law and also, only require that their users be within a certain distance of these points, not actually be at them.

Is it currently legal to say Go to person X house and touch a tree? If not, does the current law extend to augmented reality?

Nope, unless it can be done without entering private property (which includes the airspace above the property, to some extent). And there are no special cases for augmented reality.

Now, there is some possibility that if they create a private nuisance - by being too loud, or by otherwise interfering with the use of the property - owners of a property could bring a claim in tort against players for doing so - or charges for a public nuisance, when done in a public area.

jimsug
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