A virtual world is a fusion of different digital technologies such as social media networks, virtual reality, video conferencing and other different connecting platforms. An immerse digital environment where people interact as avatars combining virtual and augmented reality technologies in a new realm. In other terms, it’s an online world where people may communicate in a virtual setting using a variety of gadgets. Some even coined the term “METAVERSE” to represent the game universe in which players control a character who can move around and interact with other players.
The technologies that make up the Metaverse include virtual reality characterized by persistent virtual worlds that continue to exist even when you’re not playing and augmented reality that combines digital and physical worlds. However, it doesn’t require that those spaces be exclusively accessed via VR or AR. A virtual world, like aspects of Fortnite that can be accessed through PCs, game consoles, and even phones, could be Metaverse.
It also translates to a digital economy, where users can create, buy, and sell goods. In the more idealistic visions of the Metaverse, it’s interoperable, allowing you to take virtual items like clothes or cars from one platform to another. You can buy a shirt from the mall and then wear it to a movie theatre in the real world. Right now, most venues have virtual identities, avatars, and inventories that are tied to just one platform. Still, a Metaverse might allow you to create a persona that you can take everywhere as quickly as you can copy your profile picture from one social network to another.
Detail Description: At one point during Meta’s presentation on the Metaverse, the company showed a scenario in which a young woman is sitting on her couch scrolling through Instagram when she sees a video a friend posted of a concert that’s happening halfway across the world.
The video then cuts to the concert, where the woman appears in an Avengers-style hologram. She’s able to make eye contact with her friend who is physically there, they’re both able to hear the concert, and they can see floating text hovering above the stage. This seems incredible, but it’s not really advertising an actual product or a possible future one. It brings us to the biggest problem with “The Metaverse“.
With the Metaverse, there are some new building blocks in place, like the ability to host hundreds of people in a single instance of a server (ideally, future versions of a Metaverse will be able to handle thousands or even millions of people at once); or motion-tracking tools that can distinguish where a person is looking or where their hands are. These new technologies can be fascinating and feel futuristic.
Virtual reality is different from standard computer programs, and the virtual reality interface is more realistic and more natural than the standard computer program. In addition, virtual reality applications are designed to change into different and even new environments with user input.
Applicability and Scope: The companies looking to experiment with Metaverse are very important to institute IP licensing. Metaverse vendor may combine their proprietary IP with a brand’s IP when creating content. The risk involved here is that the brand owner may end up in a position where they are granted a particular set of rights to a digital product but cannot utilize it in the future. The capacity of IP licenses to account for general use and anticipate future uses is crucial. Scope of NFT’S technology ensures the brand IP remain protected thoroughly out. Through differentiation, copyrightability in virtual works might argue that the Courts have yet to hold that virtual results are copyrightable.
Because virtual reality is such a novel technology, no case law has clearly stated that the subject matter is copyrightable. Yet, related case law favours the copyrightability of virtual works.
Virtual reality applications are most similar to video games in terms of interactive characteristics and computer programmes underlying implementation technology. The law in these areas is quite well established, and it may be used to define the scope of copyright protection in virtual reality with relative ease. The act of one person using the other’s trademark may meet spikes like: In trademark act, the word goods interpretations articles which have exchange value and traded in commerce. So likewise, Metaverse may be construed as long as they dealt with economic value. There are many brands like NIKE, GUCCI has recently launched their products in the Metaverse. If the trademark possesses creativity, it can come under the scope of copyright.
Conclusion: The scope of IP laws relating to the virtual world needed to be interpreted per se. Present-day IP Laws are applicable nevertheless need much research to avoid confusion. As technology is evolving day to day, laws must be covering every aspect to avoid infringements.
Disclaimer: The present article intends to provide general guidance on the subject, and you can also consult us in your specific case.
