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JOURNAL
International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social
Science
p-ISSN
2544-9338
e-ISSN
2544-9435
PUBLISHER
RS Global Sp. z O.O., Poland
ARTICLE TITLE
METAVERSE: ENSURING LEGAL RECOGNITION OF
AVATARS AND ELECTRONIC PERSONALITIES
THROUGH A CROSS-BORDER PERSONALIZED ID-CODE
AUTHOR(S)
Kostenko Oleksii, Dniprov Oleksii, Zhuravlov Dmytro
ARTICLE INFO
Kostenko Oleksii, Dniprov Oleksii, Zhuravlov Dmytro. (2024)
Metaverse: Ensuring Legal Recognition of Avatars and Electronic
Personalities Through a Cross-Border Personalized ID-code.
International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science.
2(42). doi: 10.31435/rsglobal_ijitss/30062024/8141
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31435/rsglobal_ijitss/30062024/8141
RECEIVED
29 March 2024
ACCEPTED
15 May 2024
PUBLISHED
18 May 2024
LICENSE
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License.
© The author(s) 2024. This publication is an open access article.
International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science 2(42), 2024
RS Global
1
METAVERSE: ENSURING LEGAL RECOGNITION OF
AVATARS AND ELECTRONIC PERSONALITIES THROUGH
A CROSS-BORDER PERSONALIZED ID-CODE
Kostenko Oleksii
Ph.D., Associate Professor, State Scientific Institution
"Institute of Information, Security and Law of the
National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine"
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2131-0281
Dniprov Oleksii
Doctor of Law, Associate Professor
Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work and
and strategic development of the Kyiv National
University of Construction and Architecture
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-7157-9748
Zhuravlov Dmytro
Doctor of Law, Deputy Director of the
Department of the Office of the
President of Ukraine
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2205-6828
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31435/rsglobal_ijitss/30062024/8141
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Received 29 March 2024
Accepted 15 May 2024
Published 18 May 2024
The study examines the topical issue of legal recognition of avatars, electronic
personalities, and electronic humanoids in the context of the rapid development
of digital technologies, in particular in the Metaverse ecosystem. The author
emphasizes the need to reform existing and create new legal norms adapted to
the digital era that would regulate the ownership and intellectual property rights
to digital objects in the Metaverse, considering the global nature of digital
transformations and the need for cross-border legal regulation and interaction
of different legal systems to create international standards for the regulation of
virtual worlds. The author proposes an innovative approach to solving these
problems using blockchain technologies to create unified technological
solutions that will allow for the end-to-end application of procedures for cross-
border electronic identification of avatars, electronic personalities, and
electronic humanoids. This will enable each avatar to have its own unique
identification set of attributes, ensuring their unique and unrepeatable
identification in the digital space, and will also facilitate international
recognition of ownership rights to avatars, e-personalities and e-humanoids.
KEYWORDS
Metaverse, Electronic
Personalities, Personalized ID-
code, Large Language Models.
Citation: Kostenko Oleksii, Dniprov Oleksii, Zhuravlov Dmytro. (2024) Metaverse: Ensuring Legal Recognition
of Avatars and Electronic Personalities Through a Cross-Border Personalized ID-code. International Journal of
Innovative Technologies in Social Science. 2(42). doi: 10.31435/rsglobal_ijitss/30062024/8141
Copyright: © 2024 Kostenko Oleksii, Dniprov Oleksii, Zhuravlov Dmytro. This is an open-access
article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution
or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the
original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or
reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science 2(42), 2024
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Introduction.
In the context of the rapid development of digital technologies, including virtual and augmented
reality, blockchain technologies, and large language models (LLMs), in particular, in the Metaverse
ecosystem, the issue of the legal definition of ownership and intellectual property rights over avatars, e-
personalities, and e-humanoids is becoming increasingly relevant. This need is exacerbated by the global
scale of digital transformations of corporate virtual spaces into the cross-border Metaverse, which goes
beyond traditional jurisdiction, creating unique challenges for the international legal framework.
The emergence of digital technologies has catalyzed the creation of complex, immersive digital
environments where users can interact through avatars, essentially digital objects that can have
significant economic, social, ethical, and personal value. The digital evolution of society is blurring the
boundaries between digital and physical identities, requiring a reassessment of traditional legal concepts
of property, identity, and personhood. The need for a cross-border legal framework for the use of avatars,
e-personalities, and e-humanoids in the Metaverse is becoming increasingly critical. Such a framework
should balance innovation with the protection of individual rights, paving the way for a future where
digital and physical identities coexist harmoniously in a legally robust and ethically sound digital
ecosystem. This article is a continuation of Metaverse's study of the problems of electronic jurisdiction.
Presentation of the main material.
Modern advances in digital technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, blockchain, large
language models (LLMs), and Metaverse ecosystems are prompting the reform of existing legal norms, laws,
and jurisdictions and the creation of new ones adapted to the challenges of the digital age [
1
,
2
].
One of the main problems is determining the legal status of avatars in the Metaverse. An avatar
can be seen as a digital representation of an individual, a legal entity, or even an independent digital
personality with its rights and obligations. The question arises to what extent the rights and obligations
of the avatar owner can be transferred or associated with their digital representation. This includes
intellectual property rights, the right to privacy, and other personal rights.
Avatars, which in Web 2.0 played the role of game objects - characters in online games, in
the Web 3.0 or Metaverse space are being rethought and acquire new, more complex functions,
closer to the roles traditionally attributed to socialized subjects in digital society and social
processes of the virtual world. However, today avatars in the field of law remain digital assets,
digital things, or electronic content [
3
].
Given that Metaverse is currently largely a corporate product, the rules for the creation, use, and
ownership of avatars and other electronic entities in this space are largely determined by corporate
policies, internal guidelines, and user agreements. This creates a certain legal vacuum and uncertainty,
especially in the context of cross-border use of the Metaverse, which requires international legal
regulation [
4
].
The problem of transboundary use of the Metaverse and electronic personalities creates an
urgent need to develop a universal technical, technical-legal, and legal framework that would allow
regulating the creation, use, ownership, and other aspects of the existence of digital entities at the
international level [
5
]. This includes defining the legal status of avatars, e-personalities, and
humanoids, establishing rules for their use, ownership, and mechanisms for protecting rights and
freedoms in virtual spaces.
Such international legal regulation requires a comprehensive approach that considers not only
the technological aspects of digital innovation but also the social, economic, and ethical dimensions of
interaction in virtual worlds. It is important to ensure that such regulation promotes the development of
digital technologies while protecting the rights and interests of users and ensuring fairness and security
in the digital environment.
In today's legal discourse, driven by the rapid development of digital technologies, there is a
need for a detailed analysis and reform of the legal framework governing the status and use of avatars
in the digital space [
6
]. Modern legislation offers several legal categories for classifying avatars
considering them as "digital things" or "electronic content", each of which has certain legal
consequences and possibilities of application [
7
].
An avatar, viewed as a "digital thing," is characterized by the presence of a stable (fixed) digital
combination consisting of a unique sequence of zeros and ones that can be stored on a physical medium.
International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science 2(42), 2024
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This characteristic allows avatars to be subject to existing laws governing property rights and copyrights,
similar to traditional physical objects. This approach greatly simplifies the protection of property and
intellectual property rights in the digital space by offering clear and proven legal protection mechanisms.
However, a digital avatar, when viewed as a "digital thing," can also be used as a basic object
for creating electronic content, indicating its technological stability and functional variability.
The differences between an avatar as a "digital thing" and "electronic content" lie in the
possibilities of transformation and fixation, which affects the life cycle of an avatar as an information
product. These dynamics require the adaptation of legal norms aimed at regulating electronic content to
consider the unique aspects of digital identity and property [
8
].
Considering the above, both approaches to the classification of avatars have their
application depending on the specific circumstances and legal context of the relevant jurisdiction.
However, the existing legal framework that allows for such a dual classification may not be
sufficient to address all potential legal issues related to the evolution of digital technologies. This
underscores the need for a thorough rethinking and updating of the legal framework to meet the
complexity and dynamics of the digital world, ensuring effective protection of the rights and
interests of all participants in the digital space [
9
].
In addition, the problem of ownership of objects created/acquired/gifted/transferred by an avatar
in the Metaverse is becoming an urgent issue. This concerns intellectual property issues, in particular
copyright to the avatar design, as well as ownership rights to digital assets and their transfer. An
important aspect is the development of mechanisms to protect these rights from infringement, in the
context of copying, modification, or unauthorized use of avatars and other digital objects.
In response to the challenges associated with establishing ownership rights to avatars in the
context of globalization and the digitalization of society, an advanced approach based on the use of
blockchain technologies is proposed [
10
,
11
]. This approach involves the creation of unified
technological procedures that allow for the end-to-end application of cross-border electronic
identification procedures for avatars, similar to the citizen identification system [
12
]. This technology
can form the basis of international legal regulation, as the Metaverse has no geographical boundaries
and participants can be located in different jurisdictions and ensure interaction between different legal
systems and the creation of international standards for the regulation of virtual worlds.
The concept is to form a unified technological and legal framework that, using code and
blockchain, will allow each avatar to have its own unique identification set of attributes that are
resistant to change and manipulation. This set of attributes will perform functions similar to those
of a citizen's passport, providing a unique and unrepeatable identification of each avatar in the
digital space. In fact, a cross-border personalized ID code of an avatar, electronic personality or
electronic humanoid will be created.
This identification catalog may include information about the avatar owner (whether an
individual or a legal entity), as well as specific attributes related to corporate products or services in the
Metaverse. In addition, the catalog will contain information about the initial generation of the avatar,
which will serve as the basis for any further modifications or iterations, ensuring transparency and
traceability of the avatar's evolution over time.
The use of blockchain technologies for this purpose has significant advantages to ensure a
high level of security, the impossibility of unauthorized changes in identification data and attributes,
as well as to create conditions for unimpeded cross-border recognition of ownership of avatars [
13
].
This, in turn, paves the way for the creation of a global, decentralized system of identification [
14
]
and digital asset management, which is of great importance in the context of the constantly
transforming digital world.
This approach will not only help to standardize the processes of identification and ownership of
avatars but will also be an important step towards the formation of a single, integrated digital identity
ecosystem, which is significant for the further development of the digital economy and society.
First, it will make it possible to quickly and reliably identify the owner/owner of an avatar in
case of problems related to illegal acts and crimes in the Metaverse [
15
].
Secondly, to form a modern institution for the protection of property rights and ownership of
digital things, electronic content, and intellectual property rights. This includes fixing the creation of
copyrighted content, assigning rights to the real author and/or transferring property rights, if necessary,
from the creator to the right holder (customer of the content creation), preventing violations, facts of
International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science 2(42), 2024
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illegal use of content and encroachments on it, creating prerequisites (foundation) for the effective use
of claim-based methods of copyright protection.
Thirdly, to ensure reliable registration of a trademark as an independent object of intellectual
property rights to protect and designate goods and services.
Blockchain technology, with its inherent characteristics of decentralization, transparency, and
immutability, offers a basic infrastructure for establishing and verifying ownership of digital assets,
avatars, and electronic identities. The creation of a cross-border personalized identification code system
will provide a reliable mechanism for the unique identification and authentication of digital objects and
entities in the Metaverse, as well as in various virtual environments and legal jurisdictions.
Most importantly, the mechanisms for providing cross-border personalized ID codes for avatars,
e-personalities or e-humanoids will form the basis for the formation of procedures that can ensure
- partial legal capacity and legal capacity of these digital entities as a legal entity;
- limited legal capacity and legal capacity of digital objects (subjects)-representatives of a
corporation;
- other procedures for determining the legal rights, obligations and liabilities of avatars,
electronic personalities or electronic humanoids.
Implementation of such a system requires a nuanced understanding of the interplay between
technology, law, and human rights, including privacy, freedom of expression, and the right to digital
identity. At the same time, large-scale international cooperation is needed to develop a coherent
legal framework that can integrate the diverse legal systems and cultural perspectives present in our
globalized world.
Conclusions.
The issue of legal recognition of avatars, e-personalities, and e-humanoids in the context of the
rapid development of digital technologies, especially in the context of the Metaverse ecosystem, is
relevant. The application of an innovative approach to solving these problems by using blockchain
technologies to create unified technological solutions that will allow for the end-to-end application of
cross-border electronic identification procedures is promising. Adaptation of existing legal norms to the
new realities of the digital world, where avatars may have economic, social, ethical, and personal value,
requiring appropriate legal protection, is becoming a necessary reality through the transformation of
international legal regulation and the interaction of different legal systems to create common standards
for virtual worlds that ensure the protection of property and intellectual property rights.
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