Ready Lawyer One: Legal Issues in the Innovation of Virtual Reality

摘要

As virtual reality becomes a more commonplace "destination" in society, lawyers advising VR platform developers and app producers should keep numerous legal considerations in mind, ranging from the challenges of protecting intellectual property in VR to the responsible management of the large amounts of user data VR devices collect. Because virtual reality is currently the most disruptive force in gaming, case law from that field of intellectual property will be the most relevant to VR in the near future. However, it is highly likely that VR will be utilized in other areas, and video game-related case law will be useful only to a limited extent the more time passes. There are many other forms of liability, like physical harm and privacy breaches, where there is little existing legal guidance. For now, the most effective strategy for protecting and supporting VR clients is to adapt the prevailing best practices in these areas of law. But just as it was a surprise when VR made its resurgence, in less time than we could imagine there may be a new body of law focused on this emerging technology - it is our job to be ready.