Meta Platforms Inc. was unsuccessful in its effort to move Immersion Corp.'s lawsuit against the company to a federal court in California. Immersion Corp. possesses a substantial collection of haptics patents and has filed legal actions against major tech companies, including Meta Platforms Inc., concerning VR-headset haptics.

Another case involved Meta Platforms Inc. being accused of infringing patented technology for information display in its Quest virtual reality headset. The FTC took legal action against Meta Platforms Inc. in July, seeking to halt the Within deal and requesting a preliminary injunction, citing Meta's efforts to dominate the VR market. However, the FTC has decided not to appeal the decision that allows Meta to acquire the VR content producer Within.

Why does this matter?

These legal battles could significantly influence the future of VR technology, intellectual property rights, and competition in the tech sector. It also sheds light on the regulatory environment for emerging technologies, a comprehensive evaluation of the metaverse and Web3 future encompasses state and federal regulations related to gambling, money transfers, securities, as well as oversight of practices that are unfair and deceptive, which are used to uphold privacy and cybersecurity obligations and have broader implications for the development and accessibility of VR and related technologies.