Following the advent of the Metaverse, global scholars have demonstrated an interest in studying the impact of emerging technologies on existing laws. In a recent study, researchers from the United Kingdom examined the impact of emerging technologies such as Metaverse on the existing law on intellectual property (IP). 

The study examined the benefits and shortcomings of Metaverse in IP law. The researchers noted that based on the distinguished features of the Metaverse and its applicability to the IP rules, the disadvantages outweigh the benefits. 

Impact of Emerging Technologies on IP Laws

This forced the researchers to intensively find possible solutions for addressing the concerns. For years, the Metaverse has been known for its unique features of bringing people together across the globe. 

The distinguished features of the metaverse technology promoted the use case of this technology in diverse industries. According to the March 7 publication on the official website of the UK government, the report reviewed the literature on IP laws. However, based on the dynamism in technology, the researchers identified potential regulatory gaps in the existing IP law in the UK. 

In their observation, the researchers noted deficiencies in the existing IP laws on metaverse projects. Despite undergoing various amendments to protect the work of the artist, the researchers highlighted several metaverse IP concerns. 

They noted the threat of adopting IP governance in an interoperable environment. The study observed the difficulties of applying the IP laws in an environment with free information sharing.

Features of Metaverse Technologies

Also, the researcher noted that the impressive experience offered by the Metaverse hindered the regulator’s ability to supervise new technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) in the digital realm.

Arguably, the researchers realized that most of the legal issues emanated from the interoperability of metaverse technology.

A review of the IP laws demonstrated that the regulators have extensively limited the interoperability capability of new technologies to restrict the unlawful sharing of copyrighted work. Compared to other advanced technologies, the researchers noted that the Metaverse focuses more on improving its interoperability capability. 

Lately, developers are investing in integrating generative AI tools and augmented and virtual reality technologies to boost the interoperability of the Metaverse. The intense efforts made by the developers have proven fruitful since Metaverse is silently becoming a multimodal interaction hub for diverse customers. 

Citing the recent development in the metaverse sector, the researchers noted that the improvement of interoperability features of this technology would hinder the regulator’s effort to monitor the distribution of copyright projects. Besides the Metaverse, the researchers noted that the immutability of blockchain technologies restricts the enactment of IP laws.

Regulatory Gaps in Existing IP Laws

The researchers observed that the immutability feature on blockchain cannot be tampered with. This implies that blockchain limits the developers from making further adjustments due to its immutability capability.

The researchers argued that blockchain will limit the regulators from amending the IP rights accordingly. Occasionally, the existing IP law fails to settle the owner disputes of copyrighted work. The numerous ownership disputes have forced the policymakers to amend the IP rules. 

With the advent of the Metaverse, the researchers noted the current IP rules limit the termination of an agreement if the owner of the copyrighted work seeks to exit the metaverse ecosystem. 

The researcher argued that AI-oriented metaverse projects pose a threat to the governance of IP. They described the algorithmic management of infringement as prone to “extremely vulnerable to misuse.” 

The researchers noted that the absence of humans in AI-inspired metaverse projects undermines the enforcement of IP laws. Also, AI content challenges the enactment of IP on metaverse projects.

The report indicated that the overdependence of AI devices in developing content will undermine innovation. Reflecting on most IP-related disputes, the researchers noted that the IP laws only apply to contents partially generated through AI technologies. Moreover, the researcher underlined the need to clarify a “plethora of key issues” on IP governance of metaverse projects.

In the report, the researchers urged the regulators to develop effective IP laws that address governance and enforcement concerns.