METAVERSE. THE NEW REALITY IN THE LEGAL SECTOR.

The Metaverse is a business opportunity similar to what happened with the internet in the 1990s. Many companies and law firms are already part of this virtual world and offer their products and services in the metaverse, enabling new ways of accessing clients globally. Since Facebook announced the change of its name to Meta, many companies have started to set foot in this virtual world of human and economic relations that goes beyond the limits of what has been known until now.

But what is the Metaverse for those who haven’t heard of it? It is simply our real world replicated virtually, where the only thing you can't do is eat and sleep. In the metaverse you can buy, attend events and sell digital assets, hold virtual meetings, pay in cryptocurrencies, as well as have your own virtual property and from it offer your services and products.  Furthermore, in this virtual world it is possible to create real estate, buy and create consumer products and develop global economies.

The reality of the metaverse, as well as replicating conventional business channels that are now virtual, raises the emerging trends of new litigation contexts, for example, that in the metaverse marriage will be possible and will bring with it new frontiers for the interpretation and application of law at an international level.  The personal and legal relationships that are beginning to emerge in the Metaverse will give rise to numerous legal questions and service opportunities, such as contracts of all kinds, including technological ones, prenuptial agreements and marriage certificates will be concluded in a virtual world that is already a reality. 

Reality shows that, in the field of trademarks, trademark conflicts with NFTs (non-fungible tokens), which are traded in the metaverse, have increased. NFTs offer users virtual versions of real objects, such as fashion, design, art, etc.  The reality of the metaverse is a challenge for all companies and professionals, who are called upon to closely follow the unstoppable change brought about by new technologies and the human conflicts that arise in these increasingly frequent technological spheres.

The Metaverse constitutes, it must be said, an opportunity for the visibility of companies and law firms, and allows us not only to interact with clients globally but also the possibility that tangible and digital goods can be the object of transactions in the real and virtual world.  I could cite numerous proposals already offered in the Metaverse such as round tables, presentations, informative talks, others such as offering replicated courtrooms for client preparation, meeting rooms with virtual or even real client services, the creation of virtual assistants or avatars with artificial intelligence that will help Metaverse clients to find the professional they need and carry out their consultation.

More and more national and foreign firms are joining metaverse platforms such as Decentraland and acquiring virtual plots of land to offer their services and also, to have a virtual space in the Metaverse.  The new reality of today should not be trivialised and, like the Internet in its day, the metaverse will be the most important means of communication and interaction on a global scale, sooner than later.