How can trade secrets be protected in the Metaverse?

In order for certain information to be protected as a trade secret, its owner must protect them by taking “appropriate secrecy measures”. While there is no conclusive legal definition with regards to these measures, they have to be constant and permanent and generally include

(1) organizational measures like access controls and restrictions for certain parties (including employees), marking of documents and files as “secret” or “confidential” and implementing internal rules of conduct for handling secret information,
(2) technical measures, e.g. password protection, encryption measures and copying restrictions, and
(3) legal measures such as NDAs with internal and external parties.

Whenever engaging in a metaverse environment, companies should check to what extent trade secrets are involved and if and how the necessary or “appropriate” secrecy measures have been or need to be taken. If, for example, a virtual meeting with staff and/or third parties takes place during which trade secrets might be exposed, the company should (amongst others) implement certain “entrance” restrictions and controls.