Lawyer Up and Head for the Metaverse

In the March editorial of Authentication and Brand News®, I wrote, in regards to the impact of the rapidly emerging market for virtual goods and services on the metaverse, that ‘the question for brands and brand protection professionals is how will the laws and regulations that govern the physical and online worlds of piracy and counterfeiting be adapted to protect brands which were created virtually without reference to anything physical?’.

Without being able to hold or look at a physical object, or even capture the URL of a webpage, the challenges facing trademark infringement and brand protection are different to authentication in the real world (ITRW).

The essence of the problem comes down to protecting an object. I use the term ‘object’ instead of the customary ‘property’ or ‘asset’ as it seems more universal. It is used ITRW to describe something that you can prove is yours and is governed by laws and regulations to prevent others from benefitting from using it without your permission.