Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality: A New Reality for Brand Owners?

• Author: Tony Onorato - Guido Asshoff - Jaime Castillo
• Position: Tony Onorato is a partner at FisherBroyles, LLP in New York, where he specializes in IP and commercial litigation. Guido Asshoff is of counsel at WILDE.Rechtsanwälte in Cologne, Germany, where he specializes in IP and IT law, namely trademarks and data protection. Jaime Castillo is a partner at Carpio, Ochoa y Asociados, S.C., in Mexico City,...
• Pages: 13-16

Published in Landslide® magazine, Volume 11, Number 1, a publication of the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law (ABA-IPL), ©2018 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved.

This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

As with any new technologies, including virtual reality

(VR) and augmented reality (AR), such innovations

on the verge of gaining acceptance among the main-

stream population could potentially give rise to legal

concerns surrounding trademark protection. Many compa-

nies are using VR/AR applications to market their brands

to consumers but are concerned about where and how their

trademarks are really being used, with many new possibilities

of unauthorized trademark use, infringements of intellectual

properties, and counterfeiting. It is yet to be seen what the

future will bring, but digital use of trademarks in VR and AR

technologies and the potential impact on trademark owners is

fundamental to brand protection.

Development and Growth of VR and AR

Technology

Virtual reality is a computer-generated, immersive

360-degree digital space presented visually in

3D and/or audibly in multidirectional surround

sound. VR uses software and external devices

to display images, as well as introduce other

sensations such as “taste” and “scent,” to rep-

licate real or imaginary environments while

mapping the user’s presence within the

environment.

Early computer software developed

for 3D modeling of aerospace, engineer-

ing, and architectural projects eventually

led to the golden age of 3D gaming in the

1990s. PC-based 3D applications such as

the video game Castle Wolfenstein and

online virtual worlds such as Second Life

gave way to present-day VR devices and

content. In 2012, Oculus VR designed a

VR headset to be later acquired by Face-

book as the Oculus Rift. Google Cardboard

and other head-mounted devices (HMDs) arrived

in 2014 and a new View-Master in 2015, both

enhanced by VR-3D-360-degree handheld photographic

and video applications. In recent years, Sony, Valve, HTC,

Samsung, Microsoft, Facebook, and many smaller companies

have entered the VR commercial space.

VR is intended to completely replace the real world with sen-

sory simulations, currently with visual and audio content. The

immersive experience requires the use of VR hardware including

Virtual Reality and

Augmented Reality

A New Reality for Brand Owners?

By Tony Onorato, Guido Asshoff, and Jaime Castillo

Virtual Reality and

Augmented Reality

Photo: iStockPhoto