This article is written by Kartikeya Kothari, a 2nd year student at MNLU, Mumbai
Defining and exploring Metaverse
3D, 7D, AI, 5G...we all are aware of these tiny bits of human development with a mammoth implication on our everyday lives. Not feeling like going to the office! How about sending a clone,..yo! switch to a virtual 3-D world network to let your virtual twin bro toil on your behalf. The basic idea of this metaphorical convenience was conceived by Neal Stephenson in 1992, donning it as the 'Metaverse.' A tireless clone would attend meetings, fulfill social obligations, and forge networking without requiring energy drinks!
Social media like Facebook, Instagram, etc are ruling our psychology, and driving us to the point of subjugation. 3D videogames where visually appealing avatars are created to participate in a purposeful activity, and replicas doing all jobs have made us imagine and question our own physical existence. Saviour of our physical self at home during the pandemic, the metaverse is a 3D virtual rendition of the actual world. Facebook 'meta' a rebranding of social medium shall soon be a platform where virtual account holders will operate .
Life after birth phenomenon will be experienced in one's lifetime, a paradoxical phenomenon though, but a proposed fusion and segregation of our physical and digital identity will definitely be phenomenal and interesting too! Meta, a Greek prefix meaning beyond, blended with 'universe' is a virtual space where users can come together like social media with AR, VR, AI, and cryptocurrency. Many of us are well versed with the science fiction novel Snow Crash (1992), best remembered for predicting metaverse. Now author Neal Stevenson is teaming up with another crypto original gangster Peter Vessenes to give life to his novel avatars. Metaverse, as an embodied virtual-reality experience is a digitalized thought, now officially defined with components of a Web-based framework for economic interoperability or a hybrid creative stage for experiences to gather (e.g., Roblox). Blockchain and XR (Extended reality, an umbrella term encompassing augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality) are the building blocks of the metaverse. It enables the transfer of digital assets and a verifiable ownership claim. Will life become easy or more complicated? An experience beyond words heading towards us like a meteor!
What’s in pot for India
Let us talk of the Indian context. currently ranked 46th in the world, soaring Indian economy and blooming entrepreneurial culture, with start-ups valued at over $1 billion in 2021, India is ranked third after the US and China . Increased purchasing capacity for consumables and data, smartphones being an integral and indispensable part of life, are conducive to the growth of metaverse.
Our gaming sector shall be more than triple in size to $7 billion by 2026 with youth investors. The global ideology of work from home has further supported gaming and transmedia experience, courtesy pandemic! Various policies of the Government of India aim at fostering a digital economy of $1 trillion. With metaverse as co-investor, a revamped shape of our socio-economic strata is expected. In December 2021, the National Blockchain Strategy was launched. In order to employ blockchain applications for e-governance, the Reserve Bank of India proposed a blockchain-backed Digital Rupee from 2022–2023 in the most recent Union Budget. To meet the demand for gaming and the metaverse, the government will hold spectrum auctions for 5G mobile services. The whole exercise aims to generate employment, the need of the hour. We all have avidly contributed to AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming, and comic sector) already once in a while, and will continue as new and futuristic avenues are explored.
Goldman Sachs proposes an $8 trillion global opportunity in the next five years, from an existing $100 billion. India's own Metaverse-NFT economy—is already worth an estimated $50-100 million annually pacing fast and expected to touch $100 billion by 2025. Globally, brands spend 2-5% of digital budget expenditure on NFTs, the nonfungible tokens or cryptography assets have been the most successful elements of metaverse since inception. Ramkumar Subramaniam, CEO, and co-founder, GuardianLink, an NFT marketplace enabler Madhur Singhal, managing partner & CEO, Praxis Global Alliance, predict a shift of 10% of digital advertising spends to metaverse in the next decade. Digital advertising spending in India are expected to increase by 33% to 48,603 crores in 2022, up from 36,554 crores in 2021 . Globally, marketers are now allocating 2-5 percent of their digital budgets to NFTs (the most successful piece of the metaverse to yet), and this figure might rise to 30-40 percent in a few years. India will be no exception.. 10% of digital advertising spending will shift to metaverse in the next few years. Digital advertising spending in India is projected to rise 33% to ₹48,603 crores in 2022 versus ₹36,554 crores in 2021. Our overwhelming ( less than 35 years) Gen -X youth population is about 65% and spending more than 80% of their time on the digital platforms. A delayed response to Web 2.0 will be covered up with a launch of Web 3.0 . I am already dreaming of a Swiss alpine ride and a trip to Mars through AR scanning a QR code on a pack of potato chips. I long to click snaps with my favorite sports players.
The Legal Game
Given that the Metaverse is meant to be used by people from all over the world, the question of which country's laws will regulate the digital domain and Metaverse environment emerges. In a borderless virtual domain, jurisdiction will be considerably more ambiguous, which is a key concern for numerous government entities. Due to how simple it is to duplicate virtual goods, Metaverse has been the target of numerous accusations of trademark infringement.
While there is presently no government regulation that may give remedy for virtual IPR infringements, blockchain technology may be a viable alternative for businesses. A blockchain is a permanent and immutable record of data, which means it cannot be wiped or modified unless a consensus mechanism is applied. Blockchain technology raises a number of significant problems. Law enforcement would also be challenging because there would be no way for authorities to hold people accountable for their activities in the metaverse due to a lack of understanding and application of the law in these domains.
With the estimated number of Metaverse users, the platform is likely to collect massive amounts of private information. Any AR-VR device's privacy statement often states that it will gather information on a person's biological characteristics, physical environment, and other private details. Such biometric information would be considered "sensitive personal data" under the IT Rules because it is being collected. The government is authorised to issue orders allowing information interception/decryption under Section 69 of the IT Act if doing so is required to "defend the security, sovereignty, or integrity of the state." Data in the Metaverse environment may be monitored by the government; if it is determined to be against public policy, it may be withheld, and the company may be penalised.
The Competition Act 2002 enforces antitrust laws by "making any contract, combination, or conspiracy to hinder commerce, as well as monopolization, attempted monopolization, or conspiracy or combination to monopolize, illegal". It also prohibits undue restraints. As a result, if many applications compete in a market and one unfairly leads or dominates and threatens to form a monopoly, this act may be invoked. While most of anti-competitive acts that exist in the real world can also exist in some form in the metaverse, the fundamental design of the metaverse and the blockchain make it difficult to detect and punish such acts, allowing businesses to use these strategies with impunity. Private blockchains can be used by anti-competitive businesses to share information that is important to the business, such information about prices. These blockchains are only accessible to those who have the owner's consent. Authorities won't have access to these texts, making it impossible for them to crack down on such behaviour.
Conclusion
Addressing these challenges would be a tough task for the scientific as well as the legal community. Justice shall prevail for all new inventions, their technical advantages and loopholes to benefit humanity as a whole. References The Metaverse: What Are The Legal Implications? , Clifford Chance (Feb 2022),https://www.cliffordchance.com/content/dam/cliffordchance/briefings/2022/02/the-metaverse-what-are-the-legal-implications.pdf Priyanka Sagani, ETtech. Metaverse Crimes are Challenging , The Economic Times (Jun 25, 2022), https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/metaverse-crimes-challenging-say-legal-experts/articleshow/92443208.cms Prashant Kataria and Dhaval Bothra, Metaverse : Legality & Regulatory Concerns in India, Mondaq (May 23, 2022) , https://www.mondaq.com/india/fin-tech/1195182/metaverse-legality-regulatory-concerns-in-india Mark Purdy, How the Metaverse Could Change Work, Harvard Business Review (Apr. 5, 2022), https://hbr.org/2022/04/how-the-metaverse-could-change-work. Anu Tiwari & Ganesh Gopalakrishnan, Into the Metaverse: Legal and regulatory considerations in India, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas Corporate Law Blog (Mar. 22, 2022), https://corporate.cyrilamarchandblogs.com/2022/03/fig-papers-no-11-series-1-into-the-metaverse-legal-and-regulatory-considerations-in-india/. Metaverse malaise, The Statesman (July 8, 2022), https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/metaverse-malaise-1503088116.html. Kazim Rizvi & Shruti Shreya, Legality of Metaverse in India & Way Forward for Web3s Sustainable Evolution, The quint (Mar. 30, 2022), https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/legality-of-metaverse-in-india-way-forward-for-web3s-sustainable-evolution.
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