By: Kira Berkeley
The Metaverse – a virtual reality where individuals can interact with each other in a digital space – is picking up popularity. While the concept can be intriguing and exciting, lawyers are increasingly concerned about the legal logistical hurdles that will come along with it. The Metaverse will likely intersect with many areas of the law. At Scott Law Group, we can already see how the Metaverse may interact with each of our primary practice areas: business law, real estate law and wills & estates law.
Business Law
One primary area of concern in business law in the Metaverse relates to enforcing trademark rights and franchise rights. Advertisements are creeping into the Metaverse space. As it stands, bottles featuring knock off labels such as “Buddy Light” and “Jacky Daniels” can be found in virtual spaces. Companies are already jumping at the opportunity to have their official logos featured on virtual items.
For example, earlier this year McDonald’s filed a trademark for a “virtual restaurant”, which would serve both virtual and actual goods, through home delivery services. 1 Furthermore, clothing brands such as Nike and Gucci have developed virtual clothing for purchase, using non-fungible tokens to (hopefully) restrict their use to individuals who have purchased the virtual product.2
Lawyers will have to navigate the field of how to enforce trademark rights such as:
what jurisdiction (and applicable laws) govern the metaverse;
who is responsible for the trademark violation (i.e., who is hiding behind the avatar); and
how can we proactively protect our clients from infringing the rights of their business?
Real Estate Law
As the creativity of the virtual spaces continues to bloom, cryptocurrency and investing in virtual reality will likely arise and virtual property will likely be a popular way to invest. 3Lawyers may have to navigate Agreements of Purchase and Sale in the virtual space and the mechanics of closing these types of real estate transactions.
Wills & Estates Law
Digital asset clauses have become increasingly popular to include in an individual’s will in recent years. These clauses allow a trustee to access, modify, sell, and delete digital assets such as files, social media accounts and websites. Digital asset clauses will likely extend to what an individual possesses in the Metaverse (whether it’s cryptocurrency, virtual real estate, a personalized avatar, etc).
Virtual Court
Additionally, there may even come a day where court cases are tried in the Metaverse. There are already virtual courtroom spaces, where groups virtually meet to engage in mock trials and moot court. As such, court in the Metaverse may be one step up from the Zoom Court that the practice has had to adapt to in the past couple of years.
The legal issues that may arise as the Metaverse becomes more prominent can be quite daunting to consider. Lawyers should be proactive in exploring these new issues and begin brainstorming how the legal field can effectively navigate what is on the horizon.
1 Mason Bissada, “McDonald’s Files Trademark for Metaverse-Based ‘Virtual Restaurant’” (9 February 2022), Forbes, online.
2 Barnard Marr, “The Metaverse, Digital Dressing Rooms and the Future of Fashion Retail” (1 July 2022), Forbes, online.
3 Bernard Marr, “How to Buy Land & Real Estate in the Metaverse” (23 March 2022), Forbes, online.