Intellectual Property Enforcement In The Metaverse, Part 2

In Part 1 of this three-part blog series, we examined how intellectual property (IP) rights online are normally enforced and how that model may translate to the metaverse. In Part 2, we focus in on the implications for IP enforcement of certain metaverse properties linked to the blockchain.

Enforcement on the Blockchain

Things get more complicated when we move to metaverses that purport to be "decentralized" and provide something akin to land ownership on the blockchain. In metaverses such as Decentraland and The Sandbox, parcels of land are associated with non-fungible tokens (NFTs), where the non-fungibility of the NFT and association with a spatial location mimics the characteristics of real property. Because metaverse property is identified by coordinates (similar to a radio frequency), the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) process as applied to domain name disputes is not likely to apply to the metaverse, because metaverse lands do not