Nike, one of the largest shoe companies in the world, has reportedly applied for virtual trademarks with the US Patent and Trademark Office in late October which is seen as a nod towards its entry into the metaverse.
The metaverse has been receiving a lot of attention ever since Facebook decided to change its name to Meta and though the concept has been around for some time now, it has only now reached the mainstream with many people talking about it around the world. This is something that is here to stay with Facebook looking to it as its next frontier with plans to build a social network in the metaverse and use it for carrying out transactions within that realm as well. Nike also seems to have realized the shift in the thinking and it looks as though it would be designing various logos and merchandise and other items for the virtual world as it also looks to hire designers for the same.
The company has applied for the patent for “downloadable virtual goods, retail store services featuring virtual goods and entertainment services,” the last of which includes things like online non-downloadable virtual footwear, clothing, headwear, bags, equipment, and similar items. The patents have been applied for 7 of the items that are synonymous with the company which includes the words ‘Nike’, ‘Just Do It’, ‘Jordan’, ‘Air Jordan’, and 3 of its specialized logos. With many other companies also looking to build their versions of the metaverse, it would become important for large companies to continue to maintain their trademarks in the virtual world as well as it could quickly get very crowded and a misused space within a short period.
There is also a fear that these companies would create a parallel financial ecosystem within the realm of the metaverse by the use of cryptocurrencies and then this would become a direct challenge to the existing real-world economic ecosystem and might require the quick attention of the regulators. It remains to be seen on how the authorities are going to tackle this new problem as they already do not seem to have got any kind of control or regulation on the cryptocurrencies as yet.
