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Metaverse Source Booklet:
Regulatory and policy developments

2025 Edition

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Metaverse, virtual worlds & digital twins
1. Research conducted by individuals, companies, associations and universities
1.1. January
1.1.1. International

  • Xinyi Tu & Bruna de Castro e Silva, Are We Ready for the Metaverse? Implications, Legal Landscape, and Recommendations for Responsible Development, in Digital Society - Ethics, Socio-Legal and Governance of Digital Technology, Volume 4, article number 9, Springer Nature, January 2025, accessible here

1.2. March
1.2.1. Europe
1.2.1.1. European Union

  • Albert Agustinoy & Eric Wagner, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Europe, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.2. North America
1.2.2.1. United States of America

  • Alejandro Luna, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era - United States, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.2.2. Canada

  • Alejandro Luna, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Canada, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.2.3. Mexico

  • Alan Campos Elias Thomaz, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Mexico, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.2.4. Costa Rica

  • Alan Campos Elias Thomaz, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Costa Rica, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.3. South America
1.2.3.1. Argentina

  • Alan Campos Elias Thomaz, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Argentina, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.3.2. Brazil

  • Alan Campos Elias Thomaz, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Brazil, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.3.3. Chile

  • Alan Campos Elias Thomaz, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Chile, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.3.4. Colombia

  • Alan Campos Elias Thomaz, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Colombia, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, accessible here;

1.2.3.5. Peru

  • Alan Campos Elias Thomaz, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Peru, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.4. Asia
1.2.4.1. India

  • Angela Flannery & Yoshifumi Onodera, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – India, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.4.2. Singapore

  • Angela Flannery & Yoshifumi Onodera, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Singapore, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.4.3. Qatar

  • Angela Flannery & Yoshifumi Onodera, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Qatar, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.4.4. Pakistan

  • Angela Flannery & Yoshifumi Onodera, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Pakistan, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.5. Australia (& Oceania)
1.2.5.1. Australia

  • Angela Flannery & Yoshifumi Onodera, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Australia, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.6. Africa
1.2.6.1. South Africa

  • Docia Agyemang Boakye, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era - South Africa, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.6.2. Cabo Verde

  • Docia Agyemang Boakye, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Cabo Verde, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.6.3. Ghana

  • Docia Agyemang Boakye, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Ghana, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.6.4. Mozambique

  • Docia Agyemang Boakye, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Mozambique, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.6.5. Nigeria

  • Docia Agyemang Boakye, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – Nigeria, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.2.6.6. São Tomé and Príncipe

  • Docia Agyemang Boakye, Digital Regulations in the Metaverse Era – São Tomé and Príncipe, International Bar Assocation (IBA), IBA Intellectual Property, Communications and Technology Law Committee, March 2025, accessible here;

1.3. May
1.3.1. International

  • Asian Development Bank (ADB), Digital Twin Framework: A Practical Guide, May 2025, accessible here;

1.4. June
1.4.1. International

  • Zhi-Min Wang et al., "Towards spatial computing: recent advances in multimodal natural interaction for Extended Reality headsets", in Frontiers of Computer Science, Volume 19, Article no. 1912708, Springer Nature, June 2025, accessible here​;

  • Kamran Iranshahi et al., Digital twins: Recent advances and future directions in engineering fields, Intelligent Systems with Applications, Volume 26, ScienceDirect, June 2025, accessible here;

  • Cécile Théard-Jallu & Kevin Ishac, The rise of digital twins in healthcare: some legal insights, June 2025, accessible here;

1.4.1. Europe

1.4.1.1. European Union

  • Christoph Runde & Christine Perey, Analysis of the Impacts of European Union Regulations and Acts on Virtual Worlds, Virtual Dimension Center (VDC), PEREY Research & Consulting, figshare, June 2025, accessible here

1.5. July

1.5.1. International

  • Alastair Green et al., Digital twins: Boosting ROI of government infrastructure investments, McKinsey & Company, July 2025, accessible here

2. Reports, guidelines, recommendations and other documents published by regulatory and supervisory authorities, international organizations, and other public institutions and agencies
2.1. March
2.1.1. International

  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), An immersive technologies policy primer, OECD Digital Economy Papers No. 373, March 2025, accessible here

2.1.1. Europe
2.1.1.1. European Union

  • European Commission, Commission launches ‘Virtual Worlds Toolbox' to help citizens explore new digital spaces, March 2025, accessible here

2.2. April

2.2.1. International

  • Martin Böhme & Hervé Jeannin, European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), The contribution of the robotics metaverse in the medical sector - (own-initiative opinion), European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), (C/2025/2008), Official Journal of the European Union, April 2025, accessible here;

2.3. July
2.3.1. Europe
2.3.1.1. European Union

  • RÅ«ta Gabaliņa, Atis Migals, & Aida Zepcan, Virtual worlds: how do they affect our health and well-being?, European Commission,  Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT), July 2025, accessible here

2.4. November
2.4.1. Europe
2.4.1.1. European Union

  • Miguel Barreda Ángeles et al., Virtual Worlds and Well-being: Current Research and Future Directions, European Commission, Novermber 2025, accessible here

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