[2021 Geumyung IT Forum] "Metaverse Operators Must Comply with Personal Information and Copyright"

Son Do-il, a lawyer at Yulchon LLC, is giving a presentation on the topic "Metaverse and Legal Issues" at the 12th Asia Economy Financial IT Forum held on the 24th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] "When entering a metaverse platform, it is necessary to comply with individual laws such as intellectual property rights, the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, and personal information protection."

Attorney Son Do-il of the law firm Yulchon stated this on the 24th during a lecture titled "Metaverse and Legal Issues" at the 12th Asia Economy Financial IT Forum held at Lotte Hotel Seoul.

Attorney Son said, "Metaverse operators may be subject to the limitation of liability provisions for Online Service Providers (OSP) under the Copyright Act," adding, "However, within the metaverse, new forms of intellectual property infringement that were impossible in traditional OSPs such as search engines are expected to occur, so separate exemption discussions for metaverse operators are necessary."

Regarding copyright, he emphasized, "When copyrighted works are used in the metaverse, copyright-related issues generally arise," and "It is advisable to obtain permission from the copyright holder before implementing real objects or places in the metaverse."

Regarding personal information protection, he advised, "From the perspective of metaverse operators, the vast amount of personal information collected when users access the metaverse and the possibility of new types of personal information being collected can be problematic," and "Personal information processors can use personal information within the scope of the collection purpose with the consent of the data subject, so it is necessary to classify the types of personal information that may be generated while using the metaverse and prepare a privacy policy reflecting this."