A Running List of Metaverse Marks

In November, Nike made headlines on the heels of filing of a number of new intent-to-use applications for its most famous trademarks – including word marks “Nike,” “Just Do It,” “Jordan,” and “Air Jordan,” its iconic swoosh logo, the Jordan silhouette logo, and a stylized combination of its name and the swoosh, among others – for use on various virtual goods/services. The applications for registration foreshadowed Nike’s since-confirmed intentions to take major steps into the “metaverse” (i.e., the burgeoning combination of virtual reality, augmented reality, video, social media, and the web is still notably far from fully coming into fruition), with the Beaverton-based sportswear titan listing “downloadable virtual goods” (in Class 9), “retail store services featuring virtual goods” (Class 35), and “entertainment services, namely, providing on-line, non-downloadable virtual footwear, clothing, headwear, eyewear, bags, sports bags, backpacks, sports equipment, art, toys and accessories for use in virtual environments” (Class 41) as the primary classes of goods/services.

Nike’s filings were swiftly followed by a roll out of its partnership with Roblox, coined “Nikeland.” The same has proven to be true for sneaker marketplace StockX, for example, which announced the launch of its new “Vault NFTs,” a venture that it says will enable “customers [to] invest in NFTs tied to physical products and trade them instantly.” The launch follows closely from the Detroit-based company filing a number of metaverse and non-fungible token (“NFT”)-focused trademark applications.

While it does not seem that companies need to file new trademark applications in order to amass and exert rights in the virtual world and/or in connection with NFTs (as we previously discussed here, a company’s “existing trademark portfolio will probably cover the most predictable of their activities in the metaverse”), no shortage of companies have, nonetheless, followed in the footsteps of Nike and rushed to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (and other international offices) in order to seemingly stake their claim and hedge their bets in this developing space.

With that in mind and with the aim of providing you with a snapshot of what is happening in the “metaverse” – as well as with NFTs and other facets of web3 – on the legal front, we have compiled a list of web3-centric trademark applications that have been lodged with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by various fashion, sportswear/equipment, and cosmetics/beauty brands, retailers/marketplaces, and media outlets, as well as unaffiliated third-parties, over the past several months, and will continue to update it regularly. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of metaverse-related filings with the USPTO.