Trademark law also applies in the metaverse

The topic of metaverse is currently on everyone’s lips. Many companies are developing metaverse scenarios or corresponding products, and the press is abuzz with the buzzword metaverse.

I also look after clients in this regard and deal with the topic. Even if one can actually be of the opinion that every computer game is or was in fact a metaverse. What else?

However, the issue is slowly gaining traction with courts and in the legal literature. However, the fact that trademark law also applies in the metaverse, or as courts sometimes call it, in “virtual spaces” has now been decided by the Düssel Regional Court in a preliminary injunction in a trademark case.

This should be one, if not the first court decision that decides on the topic of “virtual spaces”, at least in the Metaverse environment, and uses such “wording”.

It will be interesting to see what happens next, because the topic of NFT (for example, of branded clothing, etc.) in virtual worlds/metaverse scenarios is a big business topic right now, but at the same time also a topic where many companies underestimate the many legal issues, including the topics of supervisory law and BaFin.