Regulation Of Intellectual Property Rights In The Metaverse

Kanishka Sharma, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University

ABSTRACT

The quick growth of the Metaverse and Non-Fungible Tokens have created big hurdles for worldwide Intellectual Property Law. This article looks at how the world deals with IP violations in these virtual worlds. In the US, the Lanham Act, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 1998 and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 1996 guard trademarks and copyrights but need updates to keep up with new tech. The European Union (EU) depends on the EU Trade Mark Regulation EUTMR and the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive) to protect trademarks and copyrighted works. The Community Design Regulation makes sure digital designs stay unique. In India, the Information Technology Act 2000, the Trade Marks Act 1999, and Copyright Act 1957 don't quite cut it for the Metaverse. They're missing key definitions and ways to enforce the rules, which shows they need an update. This research points out that we need crafted IP laws. These laws should keep up with new tech and encourage countries to work together. This way, they can protect rights in the metaverse and when it comes to NFTs. The article also deals with international protocols and recommendations of how they need to change to incorporate relevant laws that fix today’s problems.