ABSTRACT
The Metaverse has come under increasing media spotlight since October 2021, when Facebook rebranded itself as Meta. As part of its rebranding, Meta announced its plan to build the Metaverse – a new version of the Internet, where people can connect, work, play, and enjoy other activities, such as teleporting to ancient Rome. The announcement sparked explosive interest in the Metaverse. This article defines the Metaverse as the immersive Internet, where users are within three-dimensional online environment, using headsets or other equipment. Users need special digital agents (avatars) to represent them in the Metaverse. The article sheds light on some challenges that the Metaverse may raise for copyright law. One of the issues is whether the existing copyright framework may be applied to the Metaverse, or new rules may be necessary. The author argues that despite merging various technologies, the Metaverse should not require fundamental changes to copyright law. The existing copyright rules may regulate copyright issues on the Metaverse, at least on the initial stage of its development.
Levan Nanobashvili, If the Metaverse is Built, Will Copyright Challenges Come?, 21 UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law 215 (2022).
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