META, the former Facebook entity, continues on its path to enter the cryptocurrency industry as well as establishing a presence within the metaverse. Evidencing this, Meta has filed eight trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which cover many of the aspects associated with the Web 3 metaverse. Mike Kondoudis, Trademark attorney representing META tweeted:
Specifically, META's trademark applications cover the following:
97320155: Online social networking and dating services, including a specific branch tailored for networking between cryptocurrency investors.
97320153: Design and development of computer hardware and software relating to Web3, including gaming, e-commerce, blockchain transactions, etc.
97320149: Entertainment and electronic publishing services, partly within virtual reality.
97320147: Telecommunication services for electronic assets held on its platform.
97320146: Financial transaction processing services relating to tokens, blockchain assets, cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets.
97320144: Advertising services via virtual or augmented reality networks and the metaverse.
97320140: Wearable peripherals for video games connected to virtual reality.
97320136: Downloadable software in the nature of a mobile application, such as for user authentication, online charitable fundraising and most notably, for hardware or e-wallets.
[Sun, Z. Meta files 8 digital asset and Web 3 trademark applications. (Accessed March 24, 2022)].
In an interview, Kondoudis stated:
'The goods and services of those applications extended far beyond just the run of the mill NFT and metaverse products that a lot of applications include,' he said. 'Only a company that has this size of scale and has a hand in the evolution and development of the metaverse can possibly plan on doing everything in these applications.'
[Setty, R. Meta Signals Crypto Plans With New Trademark Applications (1). (Accessed March 24, 2022)].
From the point of the initial filing of a trademark application, it may take up to eight months for processing. Other large corporations have recently likewise filed trademark applications including: Monster Energy; Burger King Corp.; McDonald’s Corp.; Panera Bread Co.; Panda Express; as well as the New York Stock Exchange.