Since a few big techs Metaverse development plans have become public it is clear to anyone that we, people and businesses, will have to deal with this virtual world(s) and with the fact that the reality we are used to will become more and more digitally augmented. So we better be ready to interact with each other in it.
The race to the Metaverse has officially started.
Relax. This is not another post with a list of hypothetical legal issues that will likely bother us in our parallel life – that apparently are going to be the same issues that we already face in our current online life, but “augmented” –, finally concluding that we better be on guard and hire the best advisors before each and every step in the Metaverse.
This post (this blog) wants to make it more fun.
Because it is not just a matter of making hypotheses about the application to a poor (digital) imitation of the known world of the known regulations. It is a matter of being able to deal with a totally different framework.
As of today, we know little or nothing about the Metaverse that will come, its new (actually “new”) issues and rules, and the kind of advice and assistance that we would need.
As of today, there is no such thing as “Metaverse Law”, and even less “Metaverse lawyers”.
As of today, there is no such thing as the “Metaverse” either, but for sure the one we have in mind is not a new “national territory” and has no “regulatory authority” comparable to that of a State. The Metaverse we have in mind is more like an evolution of the Internet, which is still subject to current and future national and international regulations.
But why should it continue to be so? And how can we possibly imagine that it should continue to work this way, when the same technology is already creating situations in which traditional laws are not even enforceable?
So, why shouldn’t we desire an actual “Metaverse law”?
Actually, we think that it would be desirable to have Metaverse-related rules, pretty much as if it were a new Nation.
Especially in the case where the Metaverse will end up being an open and integrated “parallel world”, characterized by full interoperability among its systems, platforms and components.
Even more, it would be desirable – if not necessary – if and when the Metaverse will be a fully decentralized ecosystem, relying on blockchain or similar technology.
If we don’t limit our imagination to a Metaverse that would just be a poor imitation of our physical world, it is not hard to imagine a virtual world where someone could do things that simply could not be done in the “real” one.
This would bring new conducts, new relationships, new offenses, new crimes, new principles, new morals and new fundamentals, that could exist and work only in and because of the evolution of the Internet into the Metaverse.
It would be desirable, then, to have “in”-Metaverse or Metaverse-dedicated equivalents of our justice courts, police, patent and trademark offices, competition authorities, privacy authorities, etc.. Entities born and developed with the technology, able to apply and enforce the new Law globally, universally, or better: metaversally.
This is what we should start getting ready for. And to do that, we, humble “real” world lawyers, have to start by: keeping track of and understanding the technology, understanding the legal implications of the technology, finding ways to adapt ourselves and our “legal mindsets” to the new order.
That is our first objective: to keep our eyes open on the legal aspects of everything related to what goes under the denomination of Web3, or Web 3.0, creating a community sharing information, insights and documentation on the newest Tech Law topics.
Blockchain, decentralization, smart contracts, digital assets, NFTs, crypto, DAOs, immersive technology, AR/VR/XR, artificial intelligence, among others.
If the “Metaverse” will be the new Internet, as of now, these appear to be the ingredients that, taken together, will bring us there.
