National Advisory Board calls for integrated management for climate-resilient agriculture (See 'Corp Brief') Arbitration - Where arbitration proceedings are meant for resolving civil & contractual disputes, they cannot be invoked to resolve penal offences under the Negotiable Instruments Act: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Centre of Excellence to advance Indigenous Telecom R&D (See 'Corp Brief') 102 Route Km Wadi-Raichur Section to be upgraded with 2×25 kV Electric Traction System (See 'Corp Brief') A & C Act - Private contractual confidentiality clause cannot override statutory or legal obligation to disclose documents directed by court of law: HC (See 'Legal Desk') CERT-In conducts 10 Cyber Security Exercises on AI-Driven Cyber Threats (See 'Corp Brief') Sonowal urges 'Faster Execution', calls for 'Speed & Scale' to meet 2030 maritime targets (See 'Corp Brief') NDPS - While mere non-compliance with procedural mandates of Sec 52A of NDPS Act is not automatically fatal to prosecution, it necessitates heightened scrutiny test of remaining evidence: HC (See 'Legal Desk') India Mobile Congress 2026 - scaling without boundaries forms goal (See 'Corp Brief') MoRD and PCI India ink MoU to bolster women-led enterprises through public procurement (See 'Corp Brief') 5.56 lakh recruitments done since 2014, Including 50,485 in Southern Railway: Vaishnaw (See 'Corp Brief') Trade Mark - Interim injunction allowed where plaintiff successfully satisfies triple test by a strong prima facie case, imbalance of convenience & irreparable injury: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Corporate Mitra Scheme Awareness Webinar organized by IICA Shillong (See 'Corp Brief') Assam Exports First International Consignment of Purabi Ice Cream to Bhutan (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - If plaintiff demonstrates prior adoption, statutory registrations, commercial reputation, and prima facie deceptive similarity between rival marks used for identical goods through common trade channels, ex parte injunction may be granted: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Common Service Centres increase from 83,950 to 5,01,731 (See 'Corp Brief') RM calls for tech-driven preventive healthcare to enhance combat readiness (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Once claim is consciously and formally withdrawn by party, arbitrator completely loses jurisdiction to adjudicate upon it: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Railways approves Rs 163 Crore Electric Traction Upgradation in South Central Railway (See 'Corp Brief') Govt promotes indigenous Potash Production and Alternative Nutrient Sources (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Personal guarantee expressly drafted as a continuing and irrevocable guarantee does not stand discharged merely because the guarantor resigns as director of the corporate debtor: NCLAT (See 'Legal Desk') CCI approves amalgamation of Go Digit Infoworks with Go Digit General Insurance (See 'Corp Brief') CCI okays acquisition of units of Oaktree capital group by Brookfield Asset Management (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - If IRP is allowed to perform only limited functions during period when CIRP is under substantial judicial restriction, IRP is not automatically entitled to full professional fees at minimum monthly rate: NCLAT (See 'Legal Desk') Amritsar becomes second spoke airport under India's International Aviation Hub Strategy (See 'Corp Brief') RRBs post Highest-Ever Net Profit of Rs. 10,177 Crore in FY 2025-26 (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Retention or continued freezing of a person's property cannot be permitted solely or primarily on ground that investigation is ongoing: SAFEMA TRIBUNAL (See 'Legal Desk') NHAI Successfully defends Major Arbitration Case to Safeguard Public Funds (See 'Corp Brief') Companies Act - Coal beneficiation cannot per se be excluded from ambit of manufacturing process to justify quashing of criminal complaint at preliminary stage: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Digital India BHASHINI conducts Multilingual AI Workshop for Haryana Vidhan Sabha (See 'Corp Brief') MISC - RBI, possessing superior expertise in financial administration over cooperative authorities, has independent power to supersede board of a cooperative bank under the Banking Regulation Act - Principles of natural justice do not apply to Section 36AAA of Banking Regulation Act 1949: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Youth Unrest & CJP Agitation: Key Learnings (See CORP EINSICHT) IPR - Patent offices cannot rely on mere hypotheses or hindsight to dismiss technical advancement: HC (See 'Legal Desk') 'Corporate Mitra Scheme' Awareness Webinar Successfully Organized by IICA Shillong (See 'Corp Brief') Rajya Sabha organises Orientation Programme for newly elected Members (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Service of insolvency petition on corporate debtor's registered email address available in MCA records constitutes valid service, if accompanied by attempts at service at registered office and publication in accordance with NCLT Rules: NCLAT (See 'Legal Desk') Coast Guard rescues 170 Persons in Flood Relief Operations across Daman, Dadra & Nagar Haveli (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Prior or parallel proceedings under SARFAESI and before DRT do not bar Section 95 insolvency application: NCLT (See 'Legal Desk') Public Advisory: Beware of Fraudulent Air Suvidha 2.0 Websites (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Liquidation application allowed where corporate debtor is not a going concern, has prima facie nil asset value & where requirements of Section 33 of IBC 2016 are met: NCLT (See 'Legal Desk')

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Meet Metaverse

Published: Jan 30, 2023

By Shweta Jain

Introduction

PEOPLE always enjoybeing in their dream world of fiction or tend to dive into past experiences/thoughts. The past can't be changed and the future is always a dream, which may or may not turn out to be reality. Science has progressed tremendously and has developed a concept which is called Metaverse, which is science fiction. With Metaverse, a person can now experience or feel any fiction in a better way. Metaverse takes a person into the world of fiction.

As per the information available on Wikipedia, the "Metaverse" is a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal, and immersive virtual world that is facilitated by the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets. In colloquial usage, a "Metaverse" is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection. The Neal Stephenson's science fiction novel Snow Crash was released in 1992 wherein the term Metaverse was, for very first time, coined.

Increasing Space of Metaverse

Virtual world has expanded drastically while the real one has remained static. Metaverse technology has slowly started gaining popularity and acceptance in different fields and areas and online  video games are the best example for it. Meta Platforms Inc. makes money by selling ads on social media websites and mobile applications. It is believed that Metaverse technology can improve work productivity of e-commerce platforms, real estate and fashion industry. The Metaverse has ability to create better ways to communicate with someone who is far away. It could give users easier access to doctor visits, shopping, work, and styling

In India, among others, Infosys has launched its Metaverse Foundry and Virtual Reality Stores. Facebook Metaverse, is owned by the company founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Decentraland was created by Ari Meilich and Esteban Ordano for Metaverse Holdings Ltd, which along with other investors own the rights to the digital universe.

Metaverse offers plenty of usage opportunities for the Government.  Metaverse has an ability to make available services and applications to citizens through avatars that will be available 24x7 for all 365 days anywhere, and anytime.

The Metaverse can  help in learning in Schools/Collages and other fields and can take discovery to a new level. People will learn by doing and not just by absorbing information and can deepen their knowledge through 3D immersion.

There are many ways to invest in the Metaverse, primarily by

1. purchasing stocks of companies or Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) that invest in the Metaverse ;

2. buying properties in Metaverse. The majority of Metaverse real estate at present is owned by Decentraland, Sandbox, Somnium Space, and Cryptovoxels.

Metaverse Laws

- At present, there is no specific regulations or laws in India to deal with Metaverse. Users generate digital content such as avatars, virtual real estate, and artwork. The copyright law can be applied to protect the original work of creators. The Sandbox enables users to develop, construct and own 'LANDS' which are virtual regions. People spend money to acquire a piece of the Metaverse real estate.

- The Contract laws  can be applied to many activities like renting and selling virtual goods and services. The copyright law can apply to user-created content avatars and digital artwork.

- Under Section 10A of the Information Technology Act of 2000, a company can opt for multi-class trademark registration. This can be used for registering trademark products and services in Meta. Platform owners have right to ban users who harm others or violate their terms of service. In case of grave criminal offences, prosecutions back in the real world are also possible.

- It is obvious that sooner or later, technology companies will compete with each other to create more sophisticated AR and VR tools, which will open up a door for Intellectual Property Rights, device patents and software.

- As we all know that Tort Law governs civil wrongs, including both property and personal damages, so Tort Law can be applied to make an accused (who did any wrong act in the Metaverse digital world) to pay for the injuries, medical expenses, and other damages resulting from the act.

Challenges with Metaverse

The Metaverse is not gearing up in fast speed because of the following reasons:

1. Lack of infrastructure for both hardware and software

2. Monopolistic approach towards development of platform

3. Lack of governance standards and laws

Dark side of Metaverse

1. Metaverse has cyber security risks. Hackers can get access to personal messages, bank information, photos and other digital assets. Companies often collect user information and share data without user knowledge as common practice, so  privacy experts raise concerns that Metaverse experience opens bigger doors for privacy abuse and surveillance by companies.

2. There is a high risk of crimes as content in the Metaverse is similar to a copyrighted content in the physical world and unauthorised use of same is an infringement of the copyright.

3. It can be used as a tool to spread fake news.

Metaverse Vs.Games

In an article, McCollum suggested that Metalaw should emerge as the legal system that governs the Metaverse. As per data available on Wikipedia, Microsoft CEO  Satya Nadella had said that he does not distinguish Metaverse from a game. But in case of   Epic Games v. Apple, it was held that plaintiff's software is a Metaverse, as opposed to just a game. In a 2007 paper,  Privacy in the Metaverse, Leenes distinguished Metaverse from a game, arguing that Metaverse is a social microcosmos whereby ordinary people develop complex  social behaviors  and psychological effects unique to the Metaverse space.

Conclusion

There is a need for a lot of development, study and understanding of the Metaverse. There is also need to develop detailed Metaverse law and standardise the process and working of the Metaverse. Metaverse law can be called as a sub-discipline of cyberlaw. But some people think that Metaverse law is a new field of study that must be recognized as a legal field in entirety and reject the view that Metaverse law is a sub-discipline of an existing legal discipline. Metaverse demands an entirely new legal infrastructure, regulating government bodies and constitutions. For establishment of the Metaverse law as a legal field, it is important to study the intersection between existing legal theories and the Metaverse. The World Economic Forum  is working on collecting views and data from various private sector, civil society, academia and policy to define the parameters of viable, safe and inclusive Metaverse focusing on two areas: governance, and economic and social value creation. We hope that soon new laws and regulations come to shape the future of the Metaverse& laws around it.

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