A STUDY OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO METAVERSE AND ITS EFFECTS ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN INDIA BY – MOHAMMADUZEF DIWAN & DR. RIPAL GUPTA
A STUDY OF ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO METAVERSE AND ITS EFFECTS ON
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN INDIA
AUTHORED BY –
MOHAMMADUZEF DIWAN
LLM. (cyber Law and
Cyber Crime Investigation),
SLFJPS, National
Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar
CO-AUTHOR – DR.
RIPAL GUPTA
Asst. Professor at
SLFJPS, National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar
Abstract
Artificial intelligence is spreading its roots
in various fields, using the concept of enabling computers to learn and perform
complex tasks that previously required a lot of human effort.
Systems powered by artificial intelligence can analyse and respond to various
data security breaches in real time. Every individual is now surrounded by AI
and they somewhere depend on them. Metaverse is one of the branch of AI
advancement which is paving its ways faster in human lives. AI has emerged as a
vital component in the development of Metaverse. Metaverse is a virtual reality
and augmented reality universe which helps people to make social connections
virtually. From sitting at a place an individual can connect to any corner of
the world and can live a moment as well. Recently Facebook has connect itself
with Meta business like wise many companies are heading towards the Metaverse.
Companies are using technology which make and create virtual world for the
users but the challenge is with respect to intellectual property rights. When
companies are using such technologies whether they can claim IP rights over
their innovation or not. The concept with IPR and metaverse is crucial because
it may raise questions with regards to rights on the invention, infringement of
piracy etc. This paper explores the intricacies of determining the rightful
ownership of content produced by AI agents within the metaverse. This raises
concern over the legal regulations of metaverse with IPR. This research delves
into the futuristic challenges and opportunities in IPR with metaverse.
Key words: Artificial Intelligence, Metaverse, Virtual
reality, Augmented reality, IPR
Introduction –
The
Metaverse, often described as a collective virtual shared space, is rapidly
evolving and gaining ground in our digitized world. The world has moved into
digital era that offers innumerable specialized technical tools and new
opportunities every day. In this virtual era, unique and new aspects and ideas
of virtuality are on the agenda. Metaverse is certainly one of them. The
metaverse is a digital - virtual space that permits you to have a communication
with other people, you can find unknown places and object online. The design
and functionality of digital – virtual world has provided a platform to people through
which they can work, shop, play or communicate through their digital avatars in
a common space. The concept of a metauniverse began to penetrate into everyday
life through striking examples. In April 2020, the virtual concert of American
rapper Travis Scott was attended by more than 12 million people[1].
It
integrates various technologies including AI, to create immersive, interconnected
virtual environments. As the metaverse becomes an integral part of our daily
lives, it brings many numerous and ethical concerns with IPR standing at the
fore front. There are questions related to metauniverse which are unresolved
and unanswered even now, such as How is "ownership" defined in
digital art? Is ownership limited here to just licensing and providing the
service? Taking into account that the metauniverse is a limitless market; When
personal data of an individual is stored and users connect profoundly with each
other, and thus it is obvious that this may lead to some legal problems.
However, such questions are still being debated.
AI and Metaverse…why it is in huge use ?
AI is
not defined anywhere, yet AI frameworks are frequently depicted as “innovative,
autonomous, independent, rational, unpredicted, evolving, developing, capable
of data collection, communicative, effective, accurate, and having free
decision among choices”. Artificial intelligence has become an important pillar
of Metaverse. Metaverse is a virtual - augmented reality where users can have
an interaction with each other, they can play and build things just like in the
actual world. Users can interact with digital 3 Dimensional objects and virtual
avatars.
Metaverse
is experienced by the millions of the users in real time and every second it is
updated by creating a large amount of information[2],
Artificial intelligence is necessary to process such data and to ensure the
smooth operation of Metaverse. Artificial intelligence can project real
movements, facial expressions, emotions into virtual Metaverse users using body
language and speech. Artificial intelligence can be used to synchronize the
speech of the user with the lip movements of the avatar[3].
AI can
also simultaneously translate users' speech in the Metaverse and make it easier
for people from different nations to access it. One possible way to use
artificial intelligence could be to detect illegal user activity. The
distinction between the virtual and Metaverse worlds will become increasingly
hazy due to the influence of AI. AI can be used by developers to persuade users
to spend a lot of time in the Metaverse.[4].
The concept
of Metaverse is huge. To begin with, there are different metaverses and
some focus on specific activities like sports or gaming. Meta vision is a 3Dimensional
social media platform that enables personalized communication based on
artificial intelligence for every user. In addition, Metaverse can also be a
centre for information, entertainment and work. It will probably become the
next version of the Internet.
Metaverse
is becoming so much popular today due to several key factors. At first, it's
driven by really cool technology like virtual reality and augmented reality
that allow us to explore immersive digital worlds.
And some
other reasons may be, in the Metaverse we would be able to do all those things that
we are doing in the real world, we could be able to attend the meeting while
remaining at home only, distant learning would become more easy, etc. also
Metaverse is a place where brand can connect with audience and can create their
customer base. Many brands such as nike, vans have their own virtual worlds[5].
Major
players in the tech industry like Facebook (now Meta), Google and Microsoft are
making significant investments to make the metaverse a reality, suggesting it
could be the next big thing. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased our interest
in virtual workplace, making the metaverse more attractive. In addition, it
offers new ways to make money, from buying virtual land to selling digital
objects and organizing virtual events, attracting entrepreneurs and investors.
NFT
(non-fungible tokens) popularized the concept of digital ownership and this
idea extends to the metaverse where you can buy, sell and exchange digital
assets. Gaming has played a huge function in introducing the social interplay
capacity of digital - virtual worlds, with video games like GTA V, Fortnite,
and so forth. giving us a flavour of what is possible. it's far essential to
take into account that the metaverse is still in its early years, and its
long-term impact on society and technology is not known to us till now, it is
something we are still figuring out. In addition to that, the acquisition of
"virtual lands" by multinational corporations and individuals to
assert territorial control in the metauniverse suggests that this has now
become a normalized phenomenon.[6]
Why it is a matter of study?
The
emergence of the Metaverse is very much beneficial to the human kind, but
however, the challenges relating to IPR are also increasing. While talking
about the legality of the actions committed by the digital avatars, which are
created and controlled by the humans within the Metaverse is in discussion and
not yet develop completely. It is a fact that Metaverse feels ‘real’ and on the
basis of this only there is demand to apply actual world laws to regulate it.
But it going to be difficult to decide which rights of the people is to be
protected, for eg. right against mental/ physical assault, but in order to
prove a case of assault, element of bodily harm is necessary which is not
possible virtually, while the rights against the Sexual harassment can be
applicable as it doesn’t require physical touch. There was a case in which it
was proved that the women was sexually assaulted in the Metaverse[7].
Likely, IPR are the creations of the human intellect and intelligence, their
applicability will naturally transcend the real virtual border. And also as the
Metaverse is a fastly growing virtual world which creates number of
opportunities for businesses and individuals and more and more companies are moving
to the good side of the Metaverse, the importance of IP becomes even more
important. Thus it creates a need for the establishment of mechanism in order
to protect them. Different types of IPR apply to the Metaverse. Copyright law covers
virtual objects created by users, such as avatars, buildings and landscapes.
Trademark law protects logos and other branding material used in the virtual
world, while patent law applies to technological advances that occur during the
development of metaverses.
Potential Challenges –
1.
Copyright and Metaverse :
Copyright laws are made in order to protect the original work of the creators
and to provide absolute rights to them over their work. Most common copyrights
in the Metaverse are the software applications helping in the creation of the
Metaverse, however, the virtual world is a kind of combinatory inventions, which
is consists of various dramatical, artistic musical works, etc. on which
separate copyright claims can be made[8].
As the Metaverse continues to grow, new copyright issues are also emerging such
as avatar rights, virtual property rights and the creation of the user
generated content. Avatar rights can be referred to as legal rights as the user
can create and control the avatars created by them and no other user can use
this avatar otherwise it would be a case of infringement. Virtual Property
rights refers to ownership of virtual assets as Virtual environment is growing,
such property shall have the potential to generate income. However, with the
involvement of more artists, software developers, and other stakeholders in the
metaverse, the copyrights challenges and disputes are likely to be increased[9].
2.
Trademarks and Metaverse: A
trademark is a unique symbol, logo, names, etc. that distinguishes particular
goods and services from others. If a symbol which is protected by the actual
world laws then, it holds the exact same status in Metaverse also[10].
Metaverse is a boon for the companies as it provides a ground for the promotion
and marketing of their trademarks in a very cost effective way. Trademarks in
the metaverse have the same legal protection as in the physical world. If
someone copies or imitates a trademark in the metaverse, they may face legal
consequences. However, it becomes difficult to protect trademark in the
Metaverse as, the people around the world uses Metaverse, so it becomes
challenging to enforce the trademark rules on a global scale[11].
3.
Patents in the Metaverse: In
general, patent is granted for new inventions or discovery. In Metaverse
patents can be filed for the software processes or hardware components which
are used to create the products. Various patent applications are filed for
augmented reality and virtual reality technology, software, etc., as it is not
possible to patent the metaverse as a whole. The use of the technologies or
devices which are already patented in the Metaverse can lead to infringement.
It is not easy to get a patent in Metaverse. The technological changes are
happening rapidly, and it is a requirement of patent that inventions must be
new, unobtrusive and useful. Detection of infringement and prior art in this digital space is
difficult. Additionally, the pursuit of patent protection for metaverse
hardware and software components need to be balanced with the want for
interoperability to improve and enhance user experiences.
All in all, copyrights, trademarks and patents are very crucial in the
metaverse. Whether you are an artist, businessperson or technical consultant,
understanding and navigating these legal aspects is vital for the protection of
your creations, brands and innovations in this intersting virtual world. Legal
experts are actively working to adapt existing laws to meet the unique
challenges and opportunities of metaverses.
AI and IPR
IPR is a
vital tool for safeguarding human intelligence and promoting innovation. AI is
relatively a new concept of discussion concerning law particularly in patent
and copyrights laws. The differentiation between genuine human consciousness
and artificial intelligence consciousness is often a key topic in the IPR and
AI debate. One of the most important issues is to determine the liability in
cases of failure of invention.[12].
The
creation, use, and protection of intellectual property are being significantly
impacted by artificial intelligence. Artificial Intelligence is playing a role
in the creation of new intellectual property through ACG (Automated Content
Generation). AI algorithms can detect patterns in vast data sets, generate new
ideas, plans, or inventions, resulting in the creation of new IP assets. Companies
are leveraging AI mechanics to enhance the worth and efficiency of their intellectual
property. AI-based systems can analyse very large volumes of data, such as
patents, Large amounts of data, such as patents, scientific publications and
art, can be analysed by AI-powered systems to identify potential infringements
and to simplify technology licensing and transfer. AI is also used for the
optimization of IP strategies, to identify licensing opportunities and to manage
the IP portfolio more efficiently.
AI
algorithms can be helpful in detection of IP violations, such as in detecting violations
of copyright, trademark, or patent on online platforms. Patent infringement and
intellectual property violations can be assessed through the use of artificial
intelligence techniques like machine learning and natural language processing,
which can then compare and contrast the copyrights and patent claims.
The
question always remains as to who gets the copyright/ownership of a work
produced by AI. Either the owner's who programs the AI ??system, the person who
provided the data to the AI ??system, or the AI ??system. The current IP laws
are not that much competent in dealing with the inventor identification issues
and such other violations when AI is involved in intellectual property creation.
Section 2(t) and Section 2(d) of the Indian Copyright Act explicitly state that
the term "patentee" or "author" is reserved for human
beings only, which means that machines cannot be protected under these laws.
Ferid Allani Vs. Union of India[13], The Hon’ble High Court of Delhi has
analysed that, whether a work created with the help of artificial intelligence
can be copyrighted in India. The court said that works created by artificial
intelligence can receive copyright protection if they meet the requirements of authorship
and originality set out in the Copyright Act 1957. Further The Hon’ble court
said that the authorship of such work must be credited to the person who chose
to make such work, likely the person who is the developer or user of such an
artificial intelligence system.
Legal frameworks concerning IPR and AI:
At the international level, the Metaverse
has no such conventions or agreements specifically dealing with intellectual
property rights.
But, there are some provisions within the
Berne agreement that can be related to Metaverse's intellectual property
rights.
"According to The Berne convention for
the protection of Literary and Artistic Works, stipulates that signatory
countries must grant authors total and exclusive rights to their creations,
regardless of their form or expression. This convention has been ratified by
181 countries."
"Other international agreements had
been introduced to the Berne convention, one of them is WIPO Copyright convention,
1996, which updates The Berne convention for the digital age. The prior consent
of copyright owner is must for the reproduction of preserving 'digital' work in
digital form on an internet device (such as NFT or metaverse), according to the
Agreement (Agreement on Article 1(4) of the WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996). It would
appear that the law is not always implemented slowly."[14]
Intellectual property rights in India are
primarily concerned with traditional intellectual property, including patents,
copyrights and trademarks, etc. Law is not specifically designed to meet the
challenges and opportunities of the Metaverse.
Indian copyright law ensures the protection
of literary, musical and artistic works. While it may cover some aspects of
Metaverse content, such as virtual art and music, it may not comprehensively
address ownership of user-generated content, virtual assets, and virtual
worlds. Updates and clarifications to copyright law may be necessary to better
accommodate metaverses.
The Indian Trademark Act protects trademarks
and logos used in business. While this may extend to Metaverse's virtual
trademarks and logos, it may not provide clear guidance on how to register and
protect virtual trademarks in this digital space. More specific policies or
guidelines may be necessary to protect trademarks in a virtual environment. In
India, patents are generally applied to inventions and processes. In connection
with Metaverse, inventions related to virtual reality, augmented reality or
virtual world technologies may be patented. However, patent laws may need to be
developed to accommodate the new technologies and inventions inherent in the
Metaverse.
While India's current intellectual property
laws may offer some protection in the Metaverse, they may not be fully adequate
to meet the unique challenges and opportunities of this digital space. Legal
updates and special rules tailored to Metaverse may be necessary to provide
clearer guidance and protection regarding copyright, trademark and patent
issues in the virtual environment.
Case study –
In this case, the applicant i.e.
E.S.S Entertainment has brought up a trademark infringement case against the
manufacturer of Grand Theft Auto (GTA) Video/ computer Games. The contention of
E.S.S was that, the imitation of strip club’s logo within GTA: San Andreas had
no relevance and it may mislead and confuse the consumer as whether E.S.S had
engaged in any digital rendition. The facts of the case are, artists for
rockstar took the picture of the locations in order to recreate it in the GTA
games. One photo shows E.S.S.'s "play pen" strip club announcing the aspect
of a virtual "pig pen" strip club. The pig pen uses the same font
which is the play pen signage. The court has applied roger’s balancing test in
order to come to the conclusion, according to roger test, any artistic work can
only be considered as infringement if it has artistic meaning or if the work
must be clearly misleading as to the source or content of the referent. Though,
the court finds that there is artistic relevance of the virtual logo with the
real logo and imitation can cause the insufficient confusion, the court had
ordered in favour of the defendants as there is no trademark infringement
caused by the Rockstar Videos, Inc, due to insufficient evidence on part of
petitioner which proves that the consumer is likely to believe that the same
company that owns a strip club can also be responsible for a
"technologically advanced" video game.
In this case trademark infringement claim was made by the
TATA on green peace international, which is an NGO. In this case, DPCL (Dhamra
Port Company Limited), a 50-50 joint venture project between TATA Steels and
Larsen and Turbo (L & T), received concession by the government of Odisha
to built a port at the mouth of the Dhamra river in Odisha, but the Green Peace
organization has expressed concern about the construction as it will damage the
mangrove forest and the surrounding nature including wildlife. In order to
create awareness among the people and to raise voice against the construction
project, the Green peace has launched a video game, the game used the logo of
TATA, thus the TATA has initiated suit a trademark infringement suit against
Green Peace. In this case, the court considered that the violation of Sec - 29
(4) would occur if the commercial entity uses the trademark, Green Peace is a
non-governmental organization, and it is not engaged in any profitable endeavour
or in any competitive business activity with TATA. Therefore, the court
concluded that the use of TATA mark is denominative.
Second life is a
website where users can live their own virtual lives. Users can crerate and
sell their own virtual products. Ozimals is a company that creates virtual
rabbits that can be bought and raised on the platform by feeding them the virtual
food. Amaretto Ranch Breedables sells virtual horses that can also be bought
and bred in the same way. Second life is operated by Linden Research. This is a
case of copyright in the United States District Court for the Northern District
of California involving digital - virtual animals in Second Life. DMCA takedown
notice was sent by Ozimals to Linden's research, claiming that Amaretto's
virtual horses were infringing on their rabbits and demanded their
removal. Amaretto responded with a DMCA
counter-notice and sought a temporary restraining order from court to obviate
Linden Research from removing its virtual horses. This was allowed and
maintained as the case progressed. Amaretto argued that Ozimals' DMCA notice
was copyright infringement and insisted that their horses didn’t infringed any
copyright. Ozimals countersued for copyright infringement, but the court
ultimately dismissed both claims.
In this case the Hon’ble Supreme Court of the United States concluded
that a software implementation of a foreign method was not patentable because
it was an "abstract idea". This only makes it harder to patent
metaverse technologies. Anyone tasked with enforcing a metaverse patent will
almost certainly claim that the claimed subject matter is an embodiment of
"abstract thought", which are usually not covered by patent
protection.
Conclusion –
Integrating the metaverse with artificial
intelligence presents both exciting intellectual property opportunities and challenges.
Understanding and engaging with legal frameworks and case studies is essential
in this evolving digital landscape. Further research and adaptation of existing
laws are needed to provide clear guidance and protection for Metaverse
participants in copyright, trademark and patent matters.
[3] Monica J. White, What is the
Metaverse? A deep dive into the ‘future of the internet’, (2021), www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-is-the-metaverse-the-future-of-the-internet
explained (last visited Sep 13, 2023)
[4] Supra Note 2.
[5] Bernard Marr, 5 Reasons to Still
care about The Metaverse, (2023), https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2023/08/03/5-reasons-to-still-care-about-the-metaverse/?sh=743974264e04 (last visited Sep 13,
2023)
[6] Supra Note 1.
[9] Amir Kashdaran, Copyright Laws in
the Metaverse: Challenges and Emerging Issues, (2023), https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/copyright-laws-metaverse-challenges-emerging-issues-amir-kashdaran
(last visited Sep 13, 2023)
[11]Sneha Ramesh , Trademarks Metaverse
Strategies and Challenges Faced ,(2023) https://vakilsearch.com/blog/trademarksmetaverse/#:~:text=The%20metaverse%20operates%20on%20a,value%20of%20a%20brand's%20trademark (last visited Sep 13,
2023)
[12] Harshit Dayal, Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)- Legal status and the
future, (2022), https://ijclp.com/artificial-intelligence-ai-and-intellectual-property-rights-ipr-legal-status-and-the-future/
(last visited Sep 13, 2023)
[13] W.P.(C) 7 of 2014
[14] IPR challenges and Metaverse by
Mayank Pandey, (Journal of Legal Research and Juridical Sciences) (last visited
Sept 13, 2023)
[15] No. CV
05-02966 MMM (JTLx).
[18] 573 U.S. 208 (2014)