By: Marisol Estrada Cruz
If you have yet to learn about the metaverse, you are not alone. This virtual-reality world expansion is slowly but surely becoming more popular as the world shifts to increased virtual interactions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The metaverse is an immersive, next-generation version of the internet where, with the help of special headsets you can “walk” around a virtual world using an avatar.[1] This concept is brought together by an interconnection of virtual reality and augmented reality worlds enabled through the development of Web3 technologies.[2]
Matthew Ball, a metaverse expert describes the metaverse as, “[A] massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds which can be experienced synchronously and persistently by an effectively unlimited number of users with an individual sense of presence, and with continuity of data, such as identity, history, entitlements, objects, communications, and payments.”[3]
Although this concept is new to me and to many of you reading this, the idea of a metaverse is traced to Neal Stephenson’s 1992 dystopic novel, Snow Crash.[4] Now, 30 years later, millions of people spend hours a day in virtual spaces.[5]
Technology companies like Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all jumping on board the metaverse train and they are envisioning a multi-platform virtual world where people can come together and share virtual space. [6]
With metaverse serving as an extension of the internet as we know it, and with these giant tech companies involved – we can only imagine the legal implications the metaverse will bring.
The current state of the internet currently presents legal issues pertaining to data rights, data security, trademarks, copyright, and misinformation. With the emergence of the metaverse, these legal issues will continue to expand, and new ones will arise.
An example of trademark law implications in the metaverse comes from Nike Inc. where the company filed seven different trademark applications to use its marks to sell virtual goods in the metaverse.[7] Nike indicated that it intends to make and sell virtual branded sneakers and apparel.[8]
Another issue will be intellectual property ownership. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, in a recent case involving artificial intelligence, held that an AI system cannot be named an inventor on a patent.[9] The Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, a manual produced by the U.S. Copyright Office, intended for use primarily by the Copyright Office staff as a general guide to policies and procedures states that the term “authorship” implies that, for a work to be copyrightable, it must owe its origin to a human being.[10] Materials produced solely by nature, by plants, or by animals are not copyrightable.[11] The metaverse could have virtual creations by avatars and AI aspects built into them. If such innovations are deemed AI creations and not human creations, they may not be allowed certain types of intellectual property protection.
Data security and privacy concerns already pose a problem in today’s internet-age. The metaverse will bring more opportunities for big tech companies to collect user data and this data will become extraordinarily valuable to companies. The application of privacy laws in the metaverse will be challenging to navigate and regulate because every person’s experience can and will be transferable across platforms and environments. [12]
Despite the legal concerns and challenges the metaverse may bring, one can only hope benefits will also arise from this new virtual world.
[1] Scott Nover, The meaning of the ‘metaverse,’ and all the terms you need to understand it, QUARTZ (Nov. 15, 2021), https://qz.com/2089665/everything-you-need-to-know-to-understand-the-metaverse/.
[2] Megan Baca, Raffi Teperdjian, and Kelley Chandler, Opportunities and Legal Implication In The Metaverse, Law 360 (Jan. 7, 2022), https://plus.lexis.com/api/permalink/eed38b3c-7f79-4016-9946-987601e155e7/?context=1530671.
[3] Matthew Ball, Framework for the Metaverse, MatthewBall (Jun. 29, 2021), https://www.matthewball.vc/all/forwardtothemetaverseprimer.
[4] Peter Allen Clark, The Metaverse Has Already Arrived. Here’s What That Actually Means, TIME (Nov. 15, 2021), https://time.com/6116826/what-is-the-metaverse/.
[5] Id.
[6] Rahul Kapoor and Shokoh Yaghoubi, A Brief Overview of the Metaverse and the Legal Challenges It Will Present, JDSUPRA (Oct. 31, 2021), https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/a-brief-overview-of-the-metaverse-and-9541020/.
[7] Jessica Golden, Nike is quietly preparing for the metaverse, CNBC (Nov. 2, 2021), https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/02/nike-is-quietly-preparing-for-the-metaverse-.html.
[8] Id.
[9] Thaler v. Hirshfeld , No. 1:20-cv-903 (LMB/TCB), 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167393 (E.D. Va. Sep. 2, 2021)
[10] The Compendium of U.S. Copyright Practices § 306 (2017), https://www.copyright.gov/comp3/chap300/ch300-copyrightable-authorship.pdf
[11] Id. at § 311.1.
[12] Supra note 2.