Long time WoW player Antonio Hernandez has targeted the Gold-farming company IGE, based in Hong Kong, with a lawsuit. He has hired a lawyer to go after IGE, saying that they "made a calculated decision to reap substantial profits by knowingly interfering with and substantially impairing the intended use and enjoyment [of the game]."

The class-action lawsuit lists several reasons why Gold-farming is bad for the game, including stripping the world of limited resources and materials, devaluation of the game's currency, in-game spam, and junk mail.

IGE sells virtual gold for real world money for a number of online games, including World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XI, EverQuest II, and Lord of the Rings Online. It was founded in 2001 by "consummate gamers" to buy and sell in-game items and gold. On its Web site, it states, "Gamers see the secondary market as yet another exciting dimension of the MMOG experience. It not only gives players the advantage of greater flexibility so they can focus on aspects of the game they most enjoy, but it also allows players to receive real world value for the effort and time they have invested in their games."

Richard Newsome, the lawyer representing Hernandez, told The Escapist, "Guys like Tony [Hernandez, the plaintiff] have paid their $15 for some entertainment, and IGE is polluting that entertainment. It's kind of like, if someone pays for a ticket to go see a movie, and if someone else comes in behind them and kicks their seat, you can get them to stop doing that."

Newsome also stated that he thinks he can win the case, even though Gold-farming companies have yet to end up in court.