Legal chaos in the metaverse: How Legal Design Thinking brings order to the virtual world?
The metaverse promises us a new reality – a space where we can work, create, socialize, and trade without physical boundaries. Sounds great, doesn’t it? However, where there are no boundaries, there are no traditional laws. Behind the promise of virtual freedom lies true legal chaos.
How can we establish order in a world that does not obey the rules of physical reality?
The rules of the old world don’t apply in the new
Our legal systems have been built for centuries on the concepts of the tangible world: territory, ownership of physical objects, face-to-face interactions. The metaverse erases all these boundaries and creates unique problems.
- Ownership problem: What does it really mean to own virtual property, such as a digital plot of land? If you buy something in the metaverse, do you have any rights if the platform suddenly disappears? Traditional contracts are too complex and inapplicable to property that does not exist physically.
- Intellectual property problem: How can you protect your brand or copyrighted work when someone can make a perfect copy of your avatar or design in seconds? Traditional copyright enforcement is slow and inefficient for such an environment.
- Jurisdiction problem: Imagine a fraud occurring in a virtual world, with the scammer in one country, the victim in another, and the server on a third continent. Whose laws apply? This creates a “legal black hole” where justice is unclear and user safety is at risk.
Legal Design Thinking: A new compass for the legal labyrinth of the metaverse
Instead of trying to force the digital world into outdated legal frameworks, Legal Design Thinking (LDT) offers a radically different approach. LDT is a method that combines law, design, and technology with the goal of making legal processes understandable, intuitive, and efficient. LDT does not create new laws but “redesigns” them for the new reality.
Here’s how LDT can bring order to the metaverse:
1. Visual contracts for digital property: Contracts for buying virtual property can be designed as interactive, visual maps. Users could see property boundaries, access rights, and terms of use without reading hundreds of pages of legal text. This makes justice more accessible.
2. Clear licenses for digital creations: Copyright licenses can be presented as simple cards. Inside the virtual asset itself (e.g., an NFT), there could be a visual display of who the author is, what usage rights exist, and whether it can be sold. This solves the issue of transparency and fraud.
3. Gamification of legal processes: Rules of conduct and laws can be embedded directly into the structure of the virtual world. A user who breaks the rules could receive a visual warning within the game, along with a clear explanation of the consequences. This makes justice part of the user experience rather than an external burden.
Legal chaos in the metaverse is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be permanent. LDT transforms abstract legal concepts into tools that empower users and enable a safer and fairer virtual experience.
In the end, the question remains: Can justice in the virtual world, thanks to innovations like LDT, become more transparent and accessible than the one in the real world?
Other blogs
CSRD: When ESG becomes a personal risk. How Evidence Architecture Moves ESG from Sustainability to Responsibility
March was traditionally reserved for closing the financial books. But from 2026...
Who will sign? CSRD and the end of collective responsibility in regional companies
March in the Balkans is traditionally a month of final accounts. But in 2026, March brings…