This month’s big news was the publishing of two reports by the World Economic Forum. Metaverse Identity: Defining the Self in a Blended Realityand Navigating the Industrial Metaverse: A Blueprint for Future Innovations.
In the EU, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre published its second report on Shaping the Next Generation of Virtual Worlds. It summarises a conference that shedded light on the role of anticipatory research, the need for a common European approach, and EU actions to support business. The Commission also closed its consultation on competition in virtual worlds. The International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications published their response to the consultation (and other organisations may follow).
Elsewhere, the UK government published a report, IP and Metaverse(s), which outlines existing IP issues that affect ‘proto-Metaverses’ and issues that may affect future metaverses and analyses possible approaches to address these issues. Intellectual property was central to the EU’s Legal Affairs Committee report on virtual worlds, co-led by Axel Voss, which MEPs voted through in January 2024.
This policy update comes from our partner Metaverse EU (metaversepolicy.eu), a Brussels-based policy hub fostering knowledge and understanding of the metaverse and its evolving regulatory framework.
