If you work in blockchain or the metaverse, your work may involve smart contracts, digital assets, virtual experiences, NFTs, decentralised applications (dApps), and branded environments. Much of what you create or build is or incorporates intellectual property (IP), and understanding how to protect and exploit these rights under EU and UK law is essential to commercial success and legal compliance.
European and UK copyright law protects original works such as:
Copyright arises automatically, but:
Best practices:
In Web3 and metaverse environments, branding is key to value creation and user trust. You should:
Trade marks can be enforced in the metaverse just as in the physical world, though jurisdictional enforcement may be complex.
An NFT (non-fungible token) is not itself IP—it is a digital token that can point to or represent IP. Unless the creator assigns rights:
To avoid confusion and protect your rights:
Smart contracts and dApps are usually protected by copyright as literary works (software). If you:
In decentralised environments, control over code may be limited, so it's important to:
In immersive platforms (e.g. gaming worlds, VR spaces), creators may design:
These are potentially protected by:
To protect and monetise virtual assets:
Common IP issues include:
To reduce legal risk:
By putting Etched® at the heart of our services, we are able to provide our clients with gold standard intellectual asset management.
Our trade mark and design attorneys are experts in all aspects of trade mark law and practice
Our trade mark and design attorneys are experts in all aspects design law and practice
Our intellectual asset management team uses Etched to proactively secure all the evidence you need on the blockchain
Our intellectual asset management team uses Etched to proactively secure all the evidence you need on the blockchain
