Virtual property: Man wins fight for dead father's cell numbers

A man in Liyang, Jiangsu province, was finally able to inherit his deceased father's cellphone numbers after a two-month struggle with notaries and the phone company - prompting another round of debate over the inheritability of virtual property.

Liu Weijun's father, who ran a company and did most of his business using two cellphones, died in a car accident in March.

"It would be inconvenient to communicate with all of the customers using a new cell number," said Liu. "But inheriting the numbers turned out to be more difficult than I expected."

According to China Mobile, both the owner and the person inheriting the number should be present at the company with their ID cards, otherwise the numbers cannot be passed on even if the inheritor has the owner's death certificate.

After trying in vain to get the numbers at the phone company, Liu consulted Liyang Notarization Office to see if notorized certificates will legalize his inheritance of the cell numbers.

Wu Caifang, a worker at the office, said that unlike real property, cell numbers must be shown to have value and be designated as virtual property.

To get notarized certificates, Liu first proved that the two numbers belonged to his father, and then asked all the people who qualified as inheritors - such as his sister and grandmother - to abandon their rights to the numbers.

"With the certificates we notarized on May 18, Liu could go to the phone company and legally inherit the cell numbers," Wu said.

The case has aroused debate over the inheritability of virtual property. Many people said they value their social media accounts and want them to be inherited by loved ones.

"I have accounts with all the popular social media," said Kong Heyang, a 36-year-old who lives in Nanjing. "Take my QQ account for example. I have been using it for about 15 years and it conveys many of my best memories. I want my son to inherit my social media accounts and remember those moments."

Wang Jinhua, a lawyer at Grandall Law Firm, said that inheritability of virtual property concerns not only the owners and inheritors but also the phone company and social media companies.

"For example, the companies have the right to close the accounts if the users refuse to pay the fees or violate regulations. So the accounts cannot be simply classified as the users' virtual property."

"Many similar disputes over the inheritability of virtual property have emerged with the rapid growth of telecommunications and the internet," he said. "The government needs to make laws and regulations to straighten out the problems of inheriting virtual property."

Guo Jun contributed to this story.