AR/VR

Join ITIF for a panel discussion with policymakers and thought leaders about how to ensure that users can enjoy the benefits of AR/VR technology safely.

Watch the panel discussion with policymakers and industry leaders about how the use of immersive technologies could bolster the efforts to increase apprenticeship offerings and enrollment in the United States. The event will feature remarks by Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE).

In recent weeks, lawmakers have introduced legislation to ban or heavily restrict teenagers’ use of social media. But these bills will not keep teenagers safe from online harm, and they will severely stifle the development of the metaverse—an emerging immersive digital space that offers new opportunities for learning, working, and socializing.

Companies are flocking into an emerging field, attempting to lure consumers to their platforms with competitive prices, new features, and engaging content.

Patrick Grady speaks about legal and societal challenges in the metaverse at an event hosted by Checkstep.

Immersive technologies have already proved to be useful in supplementing classroom education and on-the-job training. Those successes underscore how implementing the technology can bolster the effectiveness of apprenticeship programs in the United States.

Policymakers should empower metaverse platforms to develop innovative tools and solutions to address safety issues and ensure AR/VR products and services don’t harm users. Overly prescriptive regulation risks stifling the progress of those innovations.

Watch ITIF's panel discussion with industry insiders and thought leaders about how companies can use immersive technologies to market and sell products and the impact of laws and regulations on these opportunities.

As more content creators migrate to the metaverse—creating immersive, interactive, 3D virtual environments and placing virtual products within them—IP owners may face challenges in acquiring and enforcing trade dress and design patents for purely digital goods. To address this challenge, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) should issue guidance clarifying the rights associated with trade dress and design patents, especially essential terms like “functionality” and “secondary meaning,” to ensure digital goods receive IP protections just like their physical counterparts.

Watch the discussion presented by ITIF's Center for Data Innovation on what policy issues EU policymakers should focus on in a possible metaverse initiative.