World of Warcraft developer Blizzard has apparently reached an agreement with PayPal to put on notice those using PayPal to sell virtual currency for non-virtual currency. Those who continue this practice risk having their accounts irreversibly suspended.

At the center of this seems to be an acceptance by PayPal that these sales violate Blizzard’s intellectual property rights; but some legal experts that we spoke with over the weekend claim that this is nebulous at best and has never really been challenged in court in such a way to assure the eventual outcome.

The move does strike at the heart of the “gold farming” enterprises that have been going on for some time. The results could change things for the better in World of Warcraft, and it seems that players that we spoke with suggest that it is a good move by Blizzard to attempt to curb as much “gold farming” as possible. We will have to see how much success this move will have and only time will tell.