Intellectual Property in the Metaverse (where?)

Big Tech companies present their new products through large media events with massive press coverage.

Recently it was Facebook’ turn, a company we all know, which is now called Meta and which best-known products are Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, although there are many more.

This most recent launch made a lot more noise than others because the presentation focused on what Mark Zuckerberg called the future of socialization dynamics, not just of his company but of humanity (!!!), something they call the 'Metaverse'.

It is quite an ambitious statement and although what was presented is really not an entirely new concept, that a company of the size and relevance of Facebook (excuse me, Meta) make it its priority and state that this is the future, that indeed is something new.

But what is this metaverse thing? If we try to define it in a very very simple way, it is a virtual reality world in which people could socialize, play, and work. Another way of describing it could be the attempt that our real lives and our virtual lives get mixed and intertwined. (We already have virtual lives, thru the social networks that permeate our lives and with work and social meetings held in front of a screen).

Much of the comments as per this announcement have focused on issues and risks concerning social interaction, addictions, distortions of reality (something like The Matrix, Terminator 2, Wall-e and a Clockwork Orange mixed up together), but what we want to talk about today is one of the challenges that this new future would have regarding intellectual property.

It is a bit obvious to state this, but the different kinds of intellectual property are exploited in our world, in our reality. Should we consider that a metaverse, a kind of "virtual reality" in which consumers spend their hours in family relationships, leisure, work, consuming and acquiring goods could eventually be considered a new world?

For now, it might sound a bit exaggerated but what is coming is huge and we should since right away ask ourselves about issues such as territoriality, licensing, infractions and unauthorized use, enforcement, and all the new challenges that the metaverse can mean in terms of intellectual property.

There are already interactions between platforms and brands (el Chapulin Colorado, a character from a classic Mexican TV show, broadly known thru Latin America) is available as a "skin" in Fortnite, a popular online video game. But so far control over the use of characters and brands is easily managed by platform administrators. However, when this be truly a universe in which people interact more freely, unauthorized and inconvenient uses (not even to be considered for-profit infringement) will create new challenges for intellectual property rights holders on this side of the universe.