INTRODUCTION
The convergence of the metaverse, virtual reality (VR), and ongoing software innovations represents quite a transformative shift in the way we interact with digitally as well as communicate, and consume content. This paradigm also holds profound significance across various domains, from entertainment and education to business and social interaction.
The term metaverse has been popularly defined as a collective and virtually shared space, and is further defining itself as more like a next-level web.1 It also breaks the barriers of physical space, offering an engaging, and an integrated virtual setting within which users can also extend their interactions and engagement with the content in real-time. Rather than a mere expansion of the internet, it is a continuity of interacting between physical and digital spaces. Thus, its importance is in the fact that it can change fundamental activities in work, communication, and interaction with information.2
Virtual reality,3 a part of the construction of metaverse, intensifies this change. Computer generated environments allow users to feel 'inside' the environment and to interact with them in a particularly intense way in VR. It's now not just a tool used in gaming, it has made its way to education sector, healthcare sector, training simulations and many more. Therefore, the importance of VR is in making use of immersive learning environments, and treating diseases by exposure to hitherto unachievable scenarios.
In the same regard, at the center of all these developments are also constant updates of constant waves of software developments. For instance, the metaverse needs complex software framework arrangements to support interaction, build environments and enhance security. In the case of VR, software advancement is the key to more effective creation of life-like simulations, sound reproduction in the third dimension, and haptic displays. In this context, it becomes quite apparent as to how software plays a critical role because it forms the lynchpin for these kinds of applications as it continues to evolved and define what is possible.
SIGNIFICANCE OF METAVERSE, VIRTUAL REALITY AND SOFTWARE INNOVATIONS:
The significance4 of the metaverse, VR, and software innovations extends to several key areas:
- Social Interaction and Collaboration: The metaverse is the realism and reinvention of how people interface in a society where they have common cyberspaces. Conferences, seminars, and other similar social activities become more interesting and thus promote the sensation of presence even in case of remote communication. This has a very meaningful impact on future work from home, and international cooperation.
- Entertainment and Media: In the context of the metaverse, entertainment becomes an event, that can be interactively consumed. Social distancing opens new possibilities in virtual concerts, theaters, games, and more, which increase users' interest. In this sense, it has the possibility to revolutionize the entertainment business in question as well as re-design the way the target audiences consume entertainment products.
- Education and Training: First, let me state that VR together with the metaverse transforms education and training. The students can relate it with something being learned in school such as historical event, a scientist can practice an experiment in a virtual laboratory, a professional can go through a simulation in his line of practice. Its importance can be seen in the fact that the objective is to provide students with readily understandable materials, the focus on the interactive experiences.
- Healthcare and Therapy: It is evident that VR being a reality has many useful functions in the field of healthcare, as a treatment tool and as a medical simulation tool. So, the telemedicine is boosted with the help of the metaverse which offers such consultations as immersive ones. The implementation of these technologies favors better outcomes of the treatment of the patients as well as the training of the medical personnel.
- Business and Commerce: The concept of the metaverse reveals several changes and opportunities to the practice of commerce and business interactions in the virtual sphere. This is because, today, virtual showrooms and conference, and specially modified market places make e-commerce a new different world. The development of new software is essential to ensure safe and smooth transactions with the help of services in these environments.
- Innovation Ecosystem: All the features of metaverse and VR are
based on software advances. Software has a crucial role in defining
the future solutions and capabilities: from creating virtual
avatars and building realistic environments based on spatial
computing to protecting users' data and making information more
secure.
Therefore, the importance of the metaverse, virtual reality, and continuous software development based on the applications of this concept is in their synergy to redefine our perception of the virtual environment. These technologies are not mere emerging trends that are distinct from one another, but are all integrating elements that signify a major revolution in how people communicate, cooperate and interact with information thus creating opportunities for further advancement and expansion of human experience.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The current challenges of patentability of software innovations, Metaverse, Virtual Reality (VR) in India are significantly complex and constantly evolving due to integration of different technologies. This law was initially developed specifically for the purpose of providing protections to conventional inventions; however, at the present time, it is experiencing difficulties in order to cope with the nuances of patenting inventions pertaining to the creation of the Metaverse. As Metaverse technology is global, it is crucial to understanding the extent to which patents granted under the Indian Patent Act measures up to or differs from that of the foreign one. There is an imbalance in the participation of inventors in a globalized World and hence globalization and existing international legal instruments must be aligned to encourage innovativeness, fairness in competition and provide fertile ground where the inventions of inventors can be protected.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
● Familiarize with Legal Aspects more specifically Legal
Environment linked with AI technology and software creations
● Evaluate International Perspectives in context to the
domain of Patenting of Software
● Study the New Trends in Metaverse, VR and New software
technologies.
● Determine Bottlenecks and Deficiencies applicable to the
Current Patent Regime in view of Metaverse, Virtual Reality, and
software innovations.
● Propose Policy Recommendations
● Optimization and Analysis of International Cooperation
Possibilities
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
● What are the rules laid by Indian Patent Act regarding the
software patents, virtual reality and metaverse related
inventions?
● Incase of inventions under Metaverse and VR what disparity
or correlation exist between the provisions of the Indian Patent
Act and those of international Patent laws?
● Clearly, how does this state of affairs reflect on the
contemporary software development climate as well as virtual
reality and the metaverse in India and shape the patent related
milieu?
● What impact does these technologies have on the
examination process and how can or do they augment or diverge from
conventional types of patents?
LITERATURE REVIEW
- OVERVIEW: - HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN INDIA
The beginning of the evolution of the social institutions of the industrial property rights in India can be traced at various legal and administrative measures that emerged as the time went on and with the emergence of new things. In India in case of Intellectual Property Right Copyright, trademarks, patents and designs are mainly included.5
On this basis, coming back to the initial, the roots of the
legislation on the protection of the intellectual property in India
can be associated with the British colonization of the country in
the 19th century. The initial law on Copyright had been given under
The Copyright Act of 1847 which was focused at the literary and
artwork of Incredible India.
The Indian Copyright Act of 1847 was then replaced by the Act of
1914 and the new Act echoes legal protection to literary, dramatic
and musical works. This act also laid a remarkable step in the
protection of the intellectual property rights in India. In
addition, there was the pass of Trade Marks Act of 1940, which was
meant to deal with trademarks in India thus affording legal
protection to brand names, emblems, logos, and other symbols.6
The most important event in the field of the Indian I.P. legislation was the adoption of the Indian Patent Act of 1970. With time, it became even more necessary to embrace every part of the society and willingly ensure that its rights were protected with the new inventions. It superseded the 1911 Act and also introduced important changes which were among others to curb the grant of product patents in the areas of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. The main intention that was intended to be achieved by the passing of this Act in 1970 was to protect domestic patents thus enabling access to essential medicines.7
When in 1995 India became a member of WTO it had to abide by the agreement known as Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). In addition, the TRIPS brought sweeping changes to India's intellectual property rights regime that entailed the introduction of product patents in any field of technology.8
Footnotes
1 Ravenscraft, E. (2023) What is the metaverse, exactly?, Wired. Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-the-metaverse/ (Accessed: 10 November 2023).
2 Bahirat, T. (2022) What is metaverse? - everything you need to know, Great Learning Blog: Free Resources what Matters to shape your Career! Available at: https://www.mygreatlearning.com/blog/what-is-metaverse/ (Accessed: 10 November 2023).
3 Sheldon, R. (2022) What is virtual reality?, WhatIs.com. Available at: https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/virtual-reality (Accessed: 10 November 2023).
4 Significance of virtual reality in the metaverse and its benefits to the education system (no date) IXRLABS. Available at: https://www.ixrlabs.com/blog/the-significance-of-virtual-reality-in-the-metaverse-and-its-benefits-to-the-education-system/ (Accessed: 11 November 2023).
5 Author links open overlay panelS. Ravindra Bhat and AbstractThe present article provides an overview of the various laws dealing with innovation and intellectual property rights in India. In India (2017) Innovation and intellectual property rights law-an overview of the Indian law, IIMB Management Review. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0970389617305864 (Accessed: 11 November 2023).
6 IPR Law-History (no date) Legal Service India - Law, Lawyers and Legal Resources. Available at: https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-3581-ipr-law-history.html#:~:text=Origin%20In%20India%3A,as%20Act%20XV%20of%201859. (Accessed: 11 November 2023).
7 ibid.
8 )WTO: Intellectual property (TRIPS) - gateway (no date) WTO. Available at: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/trips_e.htm (Accessed: 11 November 2023).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
