The Metaverse retains the attention of major businesses as it moves forward. The United States luxury jeweler and manufacturer of Swiss watches Harry Winston is the most recent addition to this list of such companies.
According to information that was tweeted by attorney Mike Kondoudis, the corporation has submitted trademark applications for a number of items that are relevant to the metaverse.
The products and services sought to be protected by this trademark application include, but are not limited to, works of art and their accessories, as well as downloadable computer programs depicting eyewear, clothing, headwear, bags, umbrellas, wallets, belts, perfumes, pens, personal organizers, jewelry, chronometers, chronographs, clocks, watches, and apparatus for timing sporting events.
In addition, services offered in retail stores that makes use of software that is able to digitally reproduce things. And then there are additional services related to entertainment.
The first approach in devising a trademark protection plan for the metaverse is for owners of brands to evaluate their existing trademark portfolios and establish whether or not their most important trademarks will be used in a digital environment.
When entering the virtual ecosystem for the first time, this is the first step businesses must take. Companies submit applications that clearly detail the relevant virtual products or services that will be offered or sold in the metaverse.
Major companies continue to get into the Metaverse
The involvement of huge companies in the Metaverse is getting increasingly noticeable. Just today, news has broken about banking giants Fidelity Investments and HSBC filing trademarks for metaverse-related services.
The actual usage of brand markings on virtual products, as well as the prospective use of brand marks on virtual goods, fits very well into a trajectory that involves extension from the real world into the virtual world, including game skins and platform-specific assets.
A fully developed metaverse, which has been dubbed the next generation of the internet, may someday unite all users across online virtual worlds so that they may interact socially, exchange information, or conduct business.
The capability of engaging clients in an interactive virtual area gives brand owners new prospects for their businesses, including the capacity to promote, test, and sell both virtual and physical products.
However, the metaverse raises legal implications. The violation of real-world laws that prevent trademark infringement and dilution can occur when third parties utilize the trademarks that belong to a brand’s owner in a virtual environment. This can lead to misunderstanding among consumers or a tarnished reputation for the business.
Not only does the metaverse represent a shift in the business landscape, but it also creates a new environment in which trademark law may be developed and applied.
