Legal Protection of Virtual and Augmented Reality Technologies

Abstract

The paper presents the analysis of contemporary issues associated with the legal protection of such intellectual property items as virtual and augmented reality technologies. The author gives consideration to the definitions of abovementioned technologies, their similarity and difference. Attention is drawn to the fact that software is the essence of virtual and augmented reality technologies, therefore, the legal protection regime granted to computer programs should be the basic regime of legal protection of these items. At the same time, it is emphasized that virtual and augmented reality technologies use not only software programs, but also various images, musical works, multimedia, design solutions, for which reason these technologies go outside the framework of legislative definition of computer programs and act rather as complex intellectual property. This, in particular, relates them with computer games, and there is good reason behind the fact that virtual and augmented reality technologies gained momentum in the gaming environment in the first place. From here, the author draws attention to the need for developing and introducing into legislation a regulatory definition of technologies under study, which will serve as a basis for choosing the optimum regime of their legal protection. From the perspective of the author, the most advanced regime of legal protection for these technologies is the patent protection regime.