The luxurious watchmaker Rolex has filed a trademark for the NFT, NFT marketplaces, and cryptocurrency exchange.
The well-known licensed trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis has shared on Twitter that Rolex has filed a trademark application for NFTs and related digital assets or their transfers. It claims the Swiss watchmaker’s plans for NFTs, NFT-backed media, NFT marketplaces, virtual goods’ auctions, crypto keys, exchange, and transfer of virtual assets.
Will your digital avatar wear a Rolex watch in the metaverse?
The trademark application hints at online auction services for virtual objects such as watches and watch parts. It further mentions marketing through product placement in online games or virtual environments.
With this, the community speculates if Rolex is entering the metaverse. Rolex owners are requesting some NFT airdrop exclusively for them. However, some community members also believe that this could just be Rolex protecting themselves from potential infringement on the metaverse or NFT projects.
Brands push towards NFTs and virtual world in 2022 despite the crypto winters
2022 has been a bearish year for cryptocurrency and NFT assets. The leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has been down by more than 50% since Jan. 2022. However, this hasn’t stopped the brands in their plans to build in NFT and metaverse space.
According to Mike Kondoudis, 4708 US trademarks were filed for digital/cryptocurrencies + related goods/services. At the same time, 4997 US trademark applications have been filed for metaverse and virtual goods/services. Finally, a whopping 6855 US trademark applications have been filed for NFTs and related goods/services in 2022. It is more than three times the total of 2021. Last year, the brands filed just 2142 applications. The number was surpassed in just the first three months of 2022.
Most recently, the car manufacturer Nissan filed trademark applications for iconic car models like GTR, SKYLINE, and Z, claiming plans for NFTs and related services. The well-known Kraft Food Group and In-N-Out Burger also filed trademark applications for NFTs and associated services last month. Will your digital avatar dine in at an In-N-Out outlet in the metaverse wearing a Rolex?
