Survey Finds Promising Future, Major Challenges For Augmented And Virtual Reality

By Alexandra Nightingale for Intellectual Property Watch

Optimism is said to exist about the future of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) following a survey completed by over 650 respondents in the industry. Though growth and investment are anticipated, concerns about a lack of compelling content and cost and issues with the user experience were among the survey’s key findings. Legal risks were identified as well, with the highest percentage relating to technology and intellectual property licensing.

Perkins Coie, a global law firm and Upload, an organisation serving the AR/VR community, released a survey report yesterday which examined the future of augmented and virtual reality.  Respondents of the survey included AR/VR startup founders, executives with established technology companies and investors.

Inadequate content offerings was seen as the most significant obstacle to the AR/VR industry by 37 percent of respondents.

Although only 4 percent selected regulation and legal risks as the biggest hurdle, executives with AR/VR startups and technology companies did identify a range of legal risks that they are keeping top of mind.

The report [pdf], noted that “for a young industry, it is interesting that they are at least starting to think about a range of legal issues.”

Technology and IP licensing issues, ranked as the top legal risk with 19%, “normally bedevil mature technology companies” stated the report and “As with any new technology, there are both incredible business opportunities and potential legal pitfalls.”

Some 16 percent of respondents also regarded IP infringements as legal risks which concerned their company in developing AR or VR technology or content.

Alexandra Nightingale is a researcher at Intellectual Property Watch. She completed her Bachelors in Law at the University of Sussex and holds an LLM degree in International Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. During her Masters, she developed a strong interest in Intellectual Property, particularly patents and the aspects relating to global health. Her research interests now also include geographical indications and trademarks.