A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OF NON-FUNGIBLE TOKENS (NFTS) AND METAVERSE

Abstract

The world in recent times has become increasingly focused on digitalization. The evidence became obvious with the advent of the distortive Covid-19 pandemic which not only maximize the use of the digital space but even became the breeding ground for more technological inventions and development such as the Metaverse, NFTs, Cloud computing, robotics, artificial intelligence etc. However, the surges of these inventions present so many legal and ethical issues that seek attention. For instance, the "tokenmania" that has had strong footings within the gaming and art industries as well as the minting and trading of NFTs currently provokes issues of intellectual property rights protection and regulation at national, regional, and global levels. It is, therefore, in the light of the foregoing that this research adopted the doctrinal research methodology in critically appraising the legal framework for Intellectual Property Rights1 and Protection in the era of Non Fungible Tokens2 and the Metaverse. The study found out that although there are no specific laws for these inventions, available ones could be gleaned to form a regulatory regime whilst recommending areas of improvement such as the adoption of smart contract, issuing of licenses, etc. for transactions involving these inventions. It is recommended also that Laws on inventions must be proactive and timeously made to adverse the occasions of mismanagement and abuse. Inventors of the NFTs and the metaverse should ensure their creations are registered accordingly, and infringement of IP rights should be addressed within the ambit of the law.