Not so long ago, most people were only familiar with the metaverse from books and films and had little idea of the term – if at all. Even well-known companies were initially extremely critical of the idea of a new world outside the one we know and did not see any particular future potential in it.
In recent years, however, the reputation and idea of the metaverse has risen enormously, probably accelerated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. People's willingness to be in another, virtual world and to be able to interact with each other as realistically as possible is increasing more and more. In the long run, it is to be expected that a substantial part of everyday life as well as of commercial life will shift to the parallel world of the metaverse. This is especially true for research and development activities, because the metaverse - assuming its technical further development - will offer the ideal environment for extensive simulations of all kinds.
The obvious increase in willingness or at least interest on the part of the general public, coupled with the expected possibilities that the metaverse could offer, is leading to large companies also wanting to secure their place in this world. Countless efforts are currently being made to create additional platforms for development and offering of their products and services.
The investments associated with the developments in the metaverse should and must be adequately secured, which is expected and meanwhile starts to get visible, at least through patent protection. This relates to the entire metaverse, i.e. both the tools that allow us to access this world and the technologies within the metaverse itself, such as "blockchain technologies". However, a very important building block for the success of the metaverse, especially in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector, will be to protect not only the technologies but also the data that is inevitably and specifically collected. It will be necessary to continue or revive the discussion that has already begun in many jurisdictions as to whether certain data sets can also enjoy (patent) protection, for example via "product protection" as a result of patented processes.
In fact, according to various statistics, the number of patent applications directly associated with metaverse-related inventions has already more than doubled in the last five years, with a clear upward trend. The largest companies from various sectors are represented here, as well as a number of start-ups and medium-sized companies, which shows how broadly positioned the metaverse is and that it will be relevant for almost every sector in the future.
As a glance at the recently published patent applications suggests, numerous companies are working on new and improved access technologies, i.e. hardware, such as a combined system of glasses, watch, earpods and smartphone, which should enable low-threshold entry into the Metaverse.
In addition, more and more companies from the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors are now appearing on the scene. For example, the US retail and health care group "CVS Health" seems to be planning to shift a significant part of its activities to the metaverse in the future.
Drug development and biomedical research are also already taking place in the metaverse, for example in the form of certain test models, simulations and trials which are much easier to implement under simulated conditions. The same applies to new surgical methods or the use of innovative surgical tools, for which test runs and training can take place in a virtual real-time environment.
It is clear that development is not yet sufficiently advanced to create an optimal environment and an environment similar to the real world. However, it can be assumed that the metaverse is no longer just hype, considering the investments numerous industries have already made at present, including the associated measures to protect these investments via IP rights. The increasing relevance of the metaverse can be seen in particular in the patent applications of relevant technologies of globally important companies. It should also be taken into account that, due to the disclosure periods (usually 18 months from registration), it can be assumed that a considerable number of patents filed in the last 1.5 years are not even known.
Although the metaverse and its wider environment still have considerable development potential, it is precisely the basic inventions that are being made now that are likely to set the course for the next up to 20 years. It will probably become more and more difficult to work around existing patents which set the standard (not meant in a sense of a standard-essential patent yet) and to establish oneself in the metaverse if one does not start now with participating actively. The above makes it clear how important it is to inform oneself in time about the patent regulations and special features within the metaverse. Possible applications within one's own industry should be taken care of promptly in order to be prepared for possible "patent battles", and to secure one's own place in the metaverse, the assumed "(parallel-) world of the future".
Authors: Dr. Jan Phillip Rektorschek / Marie Schmidbauer, research assistant
