This week in the Metaverse: Best year yet for Web3 trademark filings, Cristiano Ronaldo NFTs and ‘world’s first digital nation’
Welcome to This Week in the Metaverse, where wealth summarizes the most interesting news from the world of NFTs, culture and virtual worlds. E-mail [email protected] with tips.
As recently as three years ago, Metaverse trademark filings were essentially non-existent, but in 2022 that’s about to change for many companies, according to trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis.
“Now it’s just part of the business,” he said wealth.
Every month since Facebook rebranded to Meta, individuals and businesses have signed up hundreds of related brands for things like branded NFTS, digital goods, or Metaverse experiences. The number of metaverse-related marks filed monthly peaked in March at 612, and the 4,700 marks filed in October already surpassed the number of marks filed throughout 2021, according to data compiled by Kondoudis.
It has become imperative for large companies to secure their rights to virtual versions of their products so that no one associates their brand with similar digital versions of their product, as in the case of Birkin bag inventor Hermès against the creator of the “MetaBirkins “NFT’s.
Kondoudis has observed that companies are increasingly bundling the trademark application for a new physical product with its digital version. Companies can register these brands for a few thousand dollars, which then allows them to avoid costly litigation, often with a simple cease and desist letter, he added.
“Virtual products and NFTs will be part of the standard branding strategy for brands in the future,” said Kondoudis.
In January, Samsung was one of the first companies to enter the Metaverse, filing a trademark in the process. The company launched a digital version of its flagship New York City store called 837X in the Web3 virtual world Decentraland earlier this year and later expanded its Metaverse presence to Roblox.
Samsung Electronics America Chief Marketing Officer Michelle Crossan-Matos said wealth that the company created its Decentraland space to connect with people around the world, especially younger customers. With some input from her 9- and 11-year-old children, Crossan-Matos designed the company’s Metaverse experiences to give customers an interactive way to experience the brand and its sustainability initiatives in particular.
“Gen Z and Gen Alpha will just blow our minds with the innovation they can create by connecting dots that have no boundaries. There are no more borders in the world,” she said.
Despite the decline in crypto prices and the waning hype surrounding the Metaverse, Crossan-Matos said the company will continue to gain experience with the technology. For the next year, she said she wants to experiment more with NFT badges or wearables like digital branded clothing.
“The Metaverse won’t be determined in the next six months,” she said. “I think it’s a long-term game of how the next generation really wants to interact with each other and with brands.”
But while Samsung is doubling down on its Metaverse strategy, the number of Metaverse-related trademark filings it has filed in recent months shows that others are slowing down. The number of trademark filings has fallen almost every month since its March peak, and a looming recession could mean they fall further in 2023.
“When the economy slows down,” Kondoudis added, “it’s difficult to expand a business or start a new one, so trademark filings tend to decline.”
In other news:
Nike launched a new Web3 platform called .Swoosh to allow customers to “learn, collect and ultimately co-create” digital items such as virtual shoes or jerseys. The company plans to launch its first NFT Products that users can wear in Web3 games from 2023. Nike also said in its announcement that some customers could receive physical products or an invitation to meet with athletes or designers.
Courtesy of Nike
Just in time for the World Cup Adidas showed his Bored Ape NFT, also known as Indigo Heart, in an ad alongside soccer stars like Leo Messi of Argentina and Karim Benzema of France. The ad contains the Bored Monkey NFT, which Adidas bought for 46 ether, or about $156,000, last year for a packet of cereal that Benzema eats from in the video. Indigo Heart’s Twitter account retweeted the ad on Monday, adding a remarkable Web3 slogan: “When football is everything, impossible is (probably) nothing.”
Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo partnered with binance to release a series of more than 6,000 NFTs with animated statues in four levels of rarity. The five rarest NFTs will be auctioned in crypto on Friday starting at around $10,000. Each rarity tier has its own perks, which can include a personal message from Ronaldo and autographed CR7 and Binance merchandise.
Mario Tama-Getty Images
The Pacific island nation Tuvalu plans to recreate the land in the Metaverse as it faces the increasing threat of climate change. “As our country disappears, we have no choice but to become the world’s first digital nation,” said Foreign Minister Simon Kofe COP27 Climate summit this week via video address. In the Metaverse, the digital Tuvalu will contain islands and landmarks aimed at preserving the nation and its heritage.
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