Trademark protection in virtual worlds

Creating their own commercial ecosystem through the advanced virtual reality and blockchain technologies, virtual worlds have become the focus of e-commerce and advertising which has been constantly evolving since the development of the internet. This has led to the presence of trademarks in virtual worlds, aiming to take advantage of both product marketing and advertising power. This study aims to evaluate how the existing provisions and legal practices regarding trademark protection on the internet can be applied to the trademarks used in virtual worlds. Our study consists of three main subsections. The first subsection includes the explanation of legal provisions set forth for the general trademark protection and trademark infringements on the internet. In the second subsection, the concept of a virtual world is explored with its development over the years, the property rights on the virtual goods are examined, and within this scope, the commercial practices and the usage of trademarks in virtual worlds are investigated. In the third subsection, the main subject of our study, trademark protection in virtual worlds, is examined by focusing on three subheadings: The legal determination of the trademark usage in virtual worlds, application of criteria for trademark infringement, and assessment of liability.