The Rising Effect Of The Metaverse On Intellectual Property Protection

Introduction

The metaverse is a word often heard in technology circles and some instances of everyday life. The impact of its technological innovation has crept into the legal sphere. Before proceeding, it is expedient to define some important terms.

What is the metaverse?

The growth of virtual reality technology has precipitated a plethora of possibilities that can exist in a virtual world. Virtual Reality (VR) involves the generation of digital replicas of real-life situations through the production of 3D concepts and has created the framework for online gaming, social interaction, and even work lives. Within a broader context, this virtual spectrum creates a digital universe better known as the metaverse. The metaverse, however, is not just a descriptive term for amalgamated virtual realities, it is a concept that integrates various virtual spaces into one 3D universe where users can live out real-life realities virtually. 2
The nature of VR especially in the gaming world explains at a microcosmic level how the metaverse operates. This is aptly illustrated by the video game, Second Life. Second Life facilitates interaction among users, encourages user-content generation, and promotes user freedom through the navigation of user-customized avatars. The gaming platform operates on a model which simulates real-life settings by not determining objectives for users but allowing them to act out real-life activities such as social interactions, watching movies, shopping, gaming, partying, and even content creation.

The scope of the metaverse however transcends the representation of real-life personalities by avatars in onlinegames. The nature of work is transformed in the metaverse reality. Corollary to the remote working or work-from-home model, the metaverse enables an online work environment where employees and employers can interact in 3D offices using digital representations of themselves.