Japan to determine if avatars should be legally protected

The Japanese government organized a public-private online meeting to discuss the rights to portraits and other intellectual properties in the metaverse.

The effort aims to address the problem of third parties pretending to be someone else by copying their avatar.

Japan now wants to settle the issue of whether individuals can legally stop others from using their computerized alter egos in cyberspace.

The discussion will serve as a basis for creating a report by March at the earliest.

The Cabinet Office estimates that by 2050, the metaverse market might be worth up to 87 trillion yen, up from 5 trillion yen in 2021.