header-logo header-logo

The metaverse & me

228896
As virtual worlds continue to expand, so do the avenues for legal disputes within them: Jacqueline Watts explains why lawyers should get to grips with the metaverse

Many legal practitioners still dismiss the metaverse as either a gaming platform with no real-world impact, or a tech fad destined to fade like others before it. This view overlooks its rapid evolution and growing significance.

For lawyers, understanding the metaverse is no longer optional. Platforms like Roblox already host vast, interactive economies where real transactions and social interactions occur daily. The industrial metaverse is reshaping how people live, work and connect; from training surgeons in immersive environments to building digital twins. With users transacting, socialising and even bequeathing virtual digital assets in these environments, legal oversight is essential.

With this evolution comes the inevitable rise in disputes. Whether triggered by commercial disagreements, intellectual property (IP) infringement, virtual asset theft or avatar misconduct, the need for effective litigation and dispute resolution mechanisms in respect of the metaverse is no

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

NEWS
What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
back-to-top-scroll