than 500 % between August 2021 and January 2022 at the US Patent and Trademark Office ( USPTO ).
With regard to how we would provide advice to secure adequate protection in this new space , we reviewed the specifications of some of the recent virtual trademark filings at the USPTO . Most virtual reality marks which cover virtual goods in virtual spaces were filed in classes 9 , 35 and 41 . Depending on the brand ( especially clothing brands ) the specifications may read as follows :
Class 9 : Downloadable virtual goods , namely , computer programs featuring footwear , clothing , headwear for use online and in online virtual worlds .
Trademark applications for NFTs and virtual marks
increased by
500 %
between August 2021 and January 2022
Class 35 : Retail store services featuring virtual goods , namely , footwear , clothing , headwear ; online retail store services featuring virtual merchandise , namely , clothing , footwear , headwear for use in virtual environments .
Class 41 : Entertainment services , namely , providing on-line , nondownloadable virtual footwear , clothing , headwear for use in virtual environments .
Brands such as Victoria ’ s Secret , Ralph Lauren , Gucci , Louis Vuitton , Coca-Cola , Saint Laurent , Valentino , Balenciaga , Alexander McQueen , Prada and sports brands like Adidas and Nike have filed for trade mark protection to cover their goods being sold as NFTs and being used in the Metaverse . McDonalds has also recently filed in class 9 for “ Virtual food and beverage products . Downloadable multimedia files containing artwork , text , audio and video files and non-fungible tokens ”.
Filing for virtual trademarks is no longer an option but a necessity , especially when you are selling your goods in the Metaverse . NFTs are extremely lucrative and to ensure that you are adequately protected in the virtual reality , a need particularly illustrated by the sharp increase in NFT-related litigation overseas , it is highly recommended that you update your trade mark portfolio to include virtual trademarks .
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