IP in the Metaverse

Recently, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, announced that Facebook is going to invest heavily in Metaverse.

The separation between the real world and the digital world is already becoming blurred with games like Pokemon Go where you can catch Pokemons in a real environment, visible on your phone (by means of augmented reality). With Metaverse, the various virtual worlds are linked together to form a large virtual world. What this world will look like, no one knows yet. But the idea is that in this world your avatar can play Roblox, visit a concert or attend a meeting with customers. Metaverse is seen as the new Internet.

Metaverse is reminiscent of Second Life. The difference, however, is that Second Life was created by a company, whereas Metaverse is a digital world that various companies, all over the world, are building. Second Life had already shaken up the legal world at the time. It will be no different with Metaverse. Where is the virtual world located? What law applies? And, from an intellectual property point of view, who do you go to if there is an infringement? Experience shows that there is always a legal answer to a new development (which is not to say that laws and jurisprudence are always equally flexible).

Metaverse also offers great opportunities. You can already see that there is a demand for digital products that therefore also have value. We already had a post about NFTs. But there are also other applications. In Pokemon Go, your avatar could already buy a Longchamp bag and a Gucci t-shirt. Do people buy that? Definitely! Your avatar also has to look good right? Because your avatar is an extension of yourself.

Now you can also try on clothes digitally. And soon you will only have to have that garment digitally. In a few clicks, you'll be wearing this garment and can share a photo on Facebook and Instagram. You can imagine that this is an interesting sales channel for sought-after brands.

Finally, where there are big brands, there is reputation and goodwill and it needs to be protected. It will be no different in Metaverse.

Curious about the application of Facebook for digital conferencing? Click here.

Do you want to protect your NFT project with intellectual property? Click here to read more about how Knijff can help you.