Dividing property between parties is already messy in the real world; now, imagine what would happen when the assets are digital? Imagine a lawyer straight-facedly arguing: “My client should keep the Roblox skin, and the Sandbox villa can go to the other party”. It sounds ridiculous. But with the billions of dollars invested in digital assets, this might be our future soon.
I had the opportunity to do my bachelor’s thesis on the metaverse topic and had the chance to investigate some of the platforms. Looking at Roblox, for example, players spent over $900 million in one quarter of 2023 on digital goods such as skins and avatar upgrades (Roblox, 2023). In Decentraland and The Sandbox, virtual parcels were sold for even hundreds of thousands of dollars. One of the plots reportedly was bought for $4.3 million by a company called Republic Realm (Mozée, 2021). Now imagine if a couple co-owns one of these valuable digital assets. What happens if their relationship falls apart? Do the NFT villas get auctioned off? Do the Roblox skins get “shared custody”?
It’s easy to laugh at the idea of judges rolling their eyes while listening to arguments about digital Gucci bags or NFT pets. But underneath the humor lies a serious issue: if we treat these platforms as real economies, then disputes over ownership may eventually require legal frameworks. In this sense, some law firms are already exploring the option of “metaverse law”, preparing for cases that would involve disputes over digital property, intellectual rights and even divorce settlements over such assets.
The fast development and immense investment in the metaverse raise questions about the role of these platforms. At the moment, companies such as Roblox and The Sandbox set their own rules about asset ownership and transfers. But as digital goods gain financial and emotional value, will courts start to challenge those rules? And how enforceable can a divorce ruling really be if the assets exist only on a private server somewhere in the world?
Personally, I find it intriguing and thought-provoking. On one hand, it feels absurd that people one day might end up fighting in court about the custody of a virtual mansion. On the other hand, digital disruption has proved in the past that what sounds ridiculous today can become a reality in the future. For example, just think about how people once laughed at paying for “fake” mobile game items, and now there are billions poured into the NFT industry.
So here’s my debate starter: Are we ready for a world where lawyers argue over who keeps the virtual mansion? Or is this just one of those problems that proves we’ve gone too far with digital disruption?
References:
Mozée, C. (2021, November 30). A plot of virtual land that went for $4.3 million in The Sandbox is the most expensive metaverse property sale ever. Markets Insider. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/metaverse-property-sandbox-virtual-real-estate-deal-record-4-million-2021-11
Roblox. (2023, July 18). Roblox. https://corp.roblox.com/it/notizie/2023/07/vision-roblox-economy
